BUTLER TWP — The fate of the Butler County Bears will be determined Friday by a 7 p.m. organizational meeting at T-Shirts & Sew On on New Castle Road.

Team owner and head coach Kirk Bergbigler is hoping to bring the semi-pro football team back this spring after it did not play in 2015.

“We’ve had three meetings earlier and eight or nine different guys have shown up at each meeting,” Bergbigler said. “Since October, I’ve had 75 to 80 guys contact me with interest in playing.

“Of course, those numbers fall off as time goes on and people need to commit. I’ve had 100 guys contact me in other years.

“As of now, I’ve got 15 guys guaranteed. We need to have at least 35 guys signed up Friday night for us to move forward,” Bergbigler added.

If the Bears do return this spring, it will be as an independent team playing its games from April through June. Most semi-pro leagues don’t begin play until late May.

Bergbigler said he did not commit to a league for this season because of the franchise’s uncertainty.

“Leagues get booked up by October,” he said. “I got us in a league last year and had to pull out when we folded. That league already had a schedule drawn up including us ... I didn’t feel right, having to pull out. I didn’t want something like that to happen again.

“I know a lot of teams through my contacts as an owner and coach. We would have no problem putting together a nine-game schedule or so.”

The Bears would likely play their home games at Butler High School. The team’s 2014 home season at Memorial Park was curtailed because of a fight that occurred on park grounds after the game.

“That whole incident hurt us, gave us a black eye. It’s not what we’re about,” Bergbigler said.

The coach is hopeful that the team will develop into one filled with players coming out of high school, looking to buy another year or two of playing football before joining college ball.

He said “four or five guys fitting that description” have expressed interest in playing for the Bears this season.

“If we do come back, we’ll use this season to transition into that type of team next year,” Bergbigler said. “We want to be an organization that helps guys get into college football.”

Butler resident Ray Hooks would be the offensive coordinator with Karns City graduate Dave Hutchison serving as defensive assistant and special teams coordinator. Bergbigler will remain head coach and defensive coordinator if the team returns.

The Bears were 1-7 in 2014. The team reached the playoffs of its respective leagues the previous three years and reached its league championship game in 2011.