Sports

Academic-eligibility requirements have taken such a toll on the extracurricular programs in the Inkster, Mich., school district that officials there are considering changing conditions for participation.

Tough eligibility standards, which many districts nationwide have adopted, diminished participation in after-school activities across the board and wreaked havoc on a few high school sports after Inkster put them in place in 1993, school officials say.

This year, for example, only 15 students qualified for the Vikings 22-man football roster. And academic suspensions have forced the Inkster baseball team to...