Football is popular in the South. There’s no denying it. But which Southern state boasts the most intense interest? If you look at the number young people playing the sport, Alabama is right near the top.

In fact, only one state beats Alabama for the number of high school football players per capita. And it’s not Texas, home of the famed Friday Night Lights, known for high school football fandom that rivals Alabama’s love for the Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers.

Related: Which SEC football team has the biggest fanbase?

That state is Mississippi. Alabama’s neighbor to the west leads the nation in high school football players per capita.

In all three of those states, exactly a third of all male high school athletes play football, according to data from the National Federation of State High School Associations.

“It’s football in the South, to me,” said Jeff Segars, Assistant Director and head of football for the Alabama High School Sports Association. “Football is important. There’s nothing much better than going and supporting your hometown team on Friday night.”

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There were 7.7 high school football players per 1,000 Mississippi residents during the 2021-2022 school year. That’s far and away the highest rate in the United States, but Alabama is second with 5.9 high school players per 1,000 residents. Texas is third with 5.6. No other state saw a rate greater than 5 in 1,000.

That’s just over 30,000 high school boys playing football in Alabama during the 2021-2022 school year, making it by far the most popular sport. The next closest was basketball, with just 13,000 male participants.

Those numbers are down slightly over some recent years, but they represent a bounce back from a significant decline during the COVID-19 pandemic, Segars said. And he said the state football in Alabama – and elsewhere – is strong.

“I think if you look at participation numbers across the country, football is healthy at all levels. We’re smarter about how we protect athletes now.”

According to data from SBRnet, football participation started to decline slightly in 2016, just after the movie ‘Concussion’ came out in 2015, chronicling issues with brain injuries in the sport. Nationally, participation peaked in 2015 with 5.5 million players. Participation then declined every subsequent year until 2021, when things started to reverse course.

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Nationwide participation climbed back to nearly 5 million in 2022, the highest number since the peak in 2015.

“From a fan perspective, it’s still the number one sport by a long shot,” said Neil Schwartz, President of SBRnet. “I think the reports of football’s demise are greatly exaggerated.”

Alabama’s high school participation numbers roughly mirror the national figures, peaking in the 2015-2016 school year and then declining slightly. But Alabama’s bounce back started sooner, in 2018-2019.

At the high school level, it’s about more than just the players, Segars said.

“It’s not just football. It’s the band, the cheerleaders, the fans. It’s time for that community to come together.”

Do you have an idea for a data story about Alabama? Or questions about Alabama that data may be able to answer? Email Ramsey Archibald at [email protected], and follow him on Twitter @RamseyArchibald. Read more Alabama data stories here.