Football will be returning to Sayreville War Memorial High School next season under a new athletic director.
Schools superintendent Richard Labbe said at a board meeting Tuesday night he knew how important the sport was to the community and that he was pleased to announce the football program was returning for 2015.
Later, it was announced that the school's athletic director, John Kohutanycz, was resigning effective June 30. He had already been on paid suspension.
Football season was canceled last fall at Sayreville, one of the state's top-ranked high schools for its football program, in the midst of an investigation into alleged locker rocker room behavior among players.
Seven players were arrested in connection with the scandal on charges ranging from hazing and conspiracy to sexual contact. They will all be tried in juvenile court and have been suspended from school.
Prosecutors have said the alleged hazing, which they said could have been considered sexual assaults, was "pervasive" at the school.
Kohutanycz was suspended with pay last month. He's expected to go on unpaid leave on April 1 before the resignation takes effect.
Local
Student Louis Santiago, who is not a member of the football team, said at the meeting Tuesday that the football hazing scandal has drawn negative attention from across the country.
"It's been a rough path but we're on the way back to recovery," the senior said.
In October, four assistant football coaches and head coach George Najjar were suspended but the assistant coaches were later reinstated to their jobs by the school board, which approved the superintendent's request to do so without comment. Najjar, head of the program for the last 20 years, remains suspended indefinitely.
