Caravel decided to cancel its 2026 high school football season due to safety concerns. The six-time Delaware state champions do not have enough players to field a full roster.
This comes just one year after the DIAA forced the Buccaneers to move up in class.
The high school football mandate puts Caravel at a disadvantage. It is an extremely small school compared to its competition!
Caravel is very good at high school football.
Caravel Academy is located in Bear, Delaware. The 46-year-old college preparatory school sits in the northernmost nook of The First State, right near the border of Maryland.
Its high school football program is at a crossroads.
The Buccaneers claim six state championships in total. They were one of the most dominant teams in the state over the last few years. They won 38 of 39 games and back-to-back state championships after they went 12-2 as the runners-up in 2022.
Caravel had not lost more than three games in a single season (not including the pandemic year in 2020) since 2018 but last season did not yield the same success. It finished with a loss in the state quarterfinals at 6-4. However, one of those losses was a forfeit.
Here’s the thing. The Buccaneers moved up from Class 2A to Class 3A prior to the fall. Class 3A is the highest classification. The increased losses were to programs that, on paper, should be “superior” in terms of size and talent.
The Buccaneers will not field a team in 2026 due to roster concerns.
Caravel enrolls roughly 373 students, total, in Grades 9-12. It has the seventh-smallest enrollment for any Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association school that plays football. That proved to be an issue in 2025. It is an even bigger issue in 2026.
The Buccaneers had only 39 players on the team last season, including nine seniors. There were just eight juniors on the roster last season who would be seniors this year, and some of them have transferred. They don’t have enough players to field a team.
Just to compare, Caravel forfeited a game against Salesianum last season. The Sallies had 68 players on the varsity roster and more than 120 players on the JV and freshman teams combined. That is nearly the entire male enrollment at Caravel.
As a result, the Buccaneers have decided not to play their nine-game high school football schedule. They will take the entire year off from competition.
Dr. Jerry Lamey, the Head of School, cited safety and health concerns as the reason for cancellation.
“After careful consideration and extensive evaluation of our football program, Caravel Academy has made the difficult decision not to field a varsity football team for the 2026 season. This decision was not made lightly. Due to a combination of factors, including a low projected roster size, the graduation of a significant number of student-athletes, and the loss of players through transfers, we have determined that we cannot safely and responsibly sustain a varsity football program this fall.
“…The health and safety of our student-athletes remain our highest priority. Football is a physically demanding sport that requires adequate roster depth to ensure safe practice environments, proper player rotation, and competitive game participation. At this time, we do not believe we can provide those conditions at the varsity level.”
Caravel will continue to assess the future of football at the school. It remains committed to exploring avenues for growth and sustainability and to evaluating opportunities to rebuild and strengthen the program for 2027 and beyond.
Per DIAA rules, any Buccaneers player who wishes to transfer to play the 2026 season is permitted to do so under a penalty-free transfer. That could create an even bigger issue if they leave and do not return.