Cheltenham High School makes "difficult decision" to cancel 2026 football season amid hazing investigation
Cheltenham has canceled the 2026 football season for the high school's varsity and junior varsity programs, months after the 2025 season ended amid a hazing investigation.
Dr. Brian W. Scriven, the superintendent of the Cheltenham School District in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, announced Tuesday in a letter to the community that the district made a "difficult decision" to cancel the varsity and junior varsity football seasons.
Scriven said the high school will have a ninth-grade football team.
"The completion of critical tasks required to reset the program is directly dependent on the findings from both the internal and external investigations currently underway," Scriven wrote in a letter on Tuesday. "Until those investigations are concluded and their findings are known, it is not possible to define, develop, or execute the necessary corrective actions. The district cannot build a path forward around unknowns. The scope and nature of what must be addressed will be determined by the evidence, and that process must be allowed to run its course before any meaningful next steps can be taken."
Scriven wrote in the letter that the district has been working with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) regarding students who might want to transfer out of Cheltenham School District to play for another high school.
The PIAA advised the district that parents with questions about athletic eligibility and transfer protocol should contact PIAA District One Committee Executive Director Sean Kelly.
Scriven wrote starting Wednesday and through the end of the school year, wraparound support services will be provided for anyone who needs them.
The school district said it will also begin working with coaches and advisors to ensure the pep band drumline, color guard and cheerleading will continue to have opportunities representing Cheltenham High School.
"The district recognizes that this uncertainty is difficult for students, families, and staff, and we are committed to ensuring that no one navigates this time alone," Scriven wrote in Tuesday's letter.
In a previous letter to the Cheltenham community in January regarding the hazing investigation, Scriven said about 19 students witnessed an assault last September and made no attempts to stop it, while several others participated in it, and others filmed it. He also mentioned an external investigation into the football program found an overall toxic and negative culture.
The January letter from Scriven also mentioned that the Cheltenham Township Police Department and Montgomery County Prosecutor's Office were conducting criminal investigations into the alleged hazing.
Some parents of football players told CBS News Philadelphia last fall they've been frustrated by the investigation, saying their children were being viewed suspiciously by college recruiters despite not being involved in the assault.
