BUTLER TWP — The landscape of youth football in Butler may undergo a radical change next year.

The Butler school board approved the formation of a seventh-grade football team in the district for the 2013 season. That move was done in preparation of the Butler Area Midget Football League moving into a travel circuit next year.

“This isn’t a final decision yet,” Butler athletic director Bill Mylan said. “We wanted to get it approved by the board, so if the midget league follows through on their proposed plan, we don’t have a bunch of kids left with no place to play football.”

The BAMFL has four varsity teams this year. If it moves into the Allegheny Valley League — where the Butler Lil’ Tornados play — its age limit will be reduced to 12.

Varsity teams in the BAMFL this year are 13- and 14-year-olds.

“Our numbers are down and we want to do what’s right for the kids,” BAMFL president Bob Greaves said. “I know this league has been around 64 years, kids’ parents and grandparents have played in it, but numbers dictate this move.”

The BAMFL will have a board meeting Oct. 20 to finalize its decision. Should it move into the traveling league, it would likely enter three Butler teams, but they would no longer be community-based teams such as East Butler, Center Township or Meridian.

Greaves said the league’s varsity players would be “drafted” on to rosters to make them more balanced.

“We experimented this year, having Meridian play Seneca Valley; Center Township played an outside travel team, and it didn’t go well ... community teams against travel teams don’t work because the community teams are too imbalanced by position,” Greaves said.

“To be competitive in travel football, we’ll likely draft three teams and put them in the league.”

Butler school board member Bill Halle, also the director of the Lil’ Tornado youth program, said having two junior high teams is the way to go.

“It keeps more kids in the system longer,” he said. “North Allegheny has done it that way for years. It increases your high school numbers.

“You want to get as many kids on the field as you possibly can, for as long as you can.”

The Butler Lil’ Tornado program has existed for four years and has always had an age limit of 12.

“That’s where youth leagues are at,” Halle said. “We’ve had kids make the age cutoff and be eligible to play for us or the junior high. We always move them on to the junior high team.

“Our program always has a ‘young’ senior team as a result, but the main purpose here is to develop kids to play high school football.”

Should the BAMFL make this move, Greaves estimated that 40 players would have to shift to the junior high program to continue playing football.

The board approved an additional cost of $8,800 to add a seventh-grade team. Those funds would cover the costs of transportation, officials and additional coaches.

“We would continue to play a WPIAL eighth-grade schedule,” Mylan said. “I would put the seventh-grade team’s schedule together myself, just to protect ourselves.

“Obviously, we would have to wait until we see what our player numbers are to officially create a seventh-grade team and we won’t know those figures until August.”

Mylan added that Butler’s high school football program is “clearly making strides” under second-year coach Clyde Conti.

“We feel like this is a necessary step to ensure the continued progress of the program,” Mylan said. “But, again, this is only if the midget league makes those changes in eligibility by switching to travel ball.”

Greaves indicated relief over learning the school board approved the addition of a seventh-grade team.

“It’s a nice thing to know,” he said. “I don’t think we could make this move without knowing another junior high team was forming.

“We’re looking out for the kids, number one.”

If the BAMFL’s changes are finalized, the final BAMFL championship game — under its current format — will be Oct. 27 at Art Bernardi Stadium.