Mid-Pacific Institute, a founding member of Pac-Five high school sports, will not participate in the consortium’s football program for the first time in nearly a half-century.

Owls’ President Paul Turnbull announced the move in a Monday email to Mid-Pacific parents and said competitive cheerleading and wrestling will also not participate as part of Pac-Five this year, citing COVID-19 considerations.

Pac-Five, which brings several smaller private schools together competing under one banner, holds its football practices on MPI’s Manoa campus.

“Unfortunately, due to health and safety considerations involving consistent daily physical interactions between student cohorts outside the Mid-Pacific community, we are unable to participate in the following cooperative PAC-5 sports: football, wrestling, and competitive cheerleading,” Turnbull wrote.

He added, “This difficult decision was reached after weeks of investigating different models and consulting other schools and associations. Our full athletics plan will be shared with coaches and athletes soon.”

The letter said the school intends to open for in-class instruction August 17.

MPI’s absence from the Pac-Five football program comes following the Wolfpack’s 6-3 finish as a Division II team in 2019. Despite posting its best season in a decade, as the lone ILH team in Division II Pac-Five was not eligible for the state tournament.

Interscholastic League of Honolulu officials were not immediately available to say how this might impact the league.

In 1973 MPI joined with University High, Hawaii Baptist Academy, Maryknoll and Lutheran High to form the HUMMERS, which soon became Pac-Five.

The 1985 Wolfpack team won the Oahu Prep Bowl championship.