HS Football Team Gives Back 8 Wins for Residency Violation

"A Catawba County high school had to forfeit all of its wins from last season after the state athletic association found an ineligible player on the team." -WBTV

8 wins and a tie... forfeited.  It's one of the only times we can officially change history with regard to highschool sports. 

Every school they beat in competition gets another win in their books.

Why?


Because someone wondered... after the fact... "Was that player eligible?"

"It is unfortunate that this situation occurred, but it appears to be the result of a misunderstanding regarding NCHSAA eligibility criteria..." was what the Superintendent's statement.

A misunderstanding.  Unfortunate... yes.  But it is also preventable.

The thing that got me most about this article was that if you read down you would see that the Head Coach had retired in December after the season.  He had already planned to retire... and did so thinking he had 8 more wins in his "career."

"It wasn't really his fault." "He didn't do it on purpose."  These are the quotes that, as true as they may seem... didn't hold up.

As a coach, you owe it to yourself to check and double check everything around elibililty.  And you owe it to your team, to the players.

When a student moves into a disctrict always make sure that they meet every requirement for eligibility before they play.

This team forfeited 9 wins and 1 tie because a student who had moved into the district... and who could technically attend school... did not meet a residency requirement for biological parent or legal guardian.

You can read the rest of the article from WBTV here.