DaytonDailyNews.com

DAYTON — Trotwood-Madison High School football coach Maurice Douglass will be suspended for three weeks, two student-athletes will be ineligible to play football this school year and one assistant coach has been removed from the program.

Those are among the sanctions announced today, July 17, by the Ohio High School Athletic Association following a seven-month investigation of Trotwood's program that focused on alleged recruiting and residency issues.

OHSAA Commissioner Daniel B. Ross also announced that Trotwood's football program will be placed on probation for two years.

"This has been a long process, but we have conducted a thorough review of the information and have had great cooperation from Trotwood-Madison officials in bringing this situation to finality," Ross said in a news release. "We are pleased that the school's administration understands the severity of these violations. Both parties are in agreement with the penalties that have been levied and the school has developed a corrective action plan to ensure that this situation will not occur in the future."

Two senior students have been declared ineligible for interscholastic athletic participation at any OHSAA member school for one year starting Aug. 1, 2008, in accordance with Bylaws 4-1-2 and 11-2-1, falsification of information for the purpose of establishing eligibility in a member school. The students were in violation of Bylaw 4-7-2, Exception 1, Transfers. Because of the 42-day provisions of Bylaw 11-1-1, there is no requirement to forfeit any contests in which the ineligible students participated.

The OHSAA investigated more than a dozen current and former Trotwood students. While Ross said only two are ineligible this fall, that number does not include former students who may have been ineligible.

The two senior athletes are separate from Michael Shaw, a football and track standout who was declared ineligible this spring and lost a court hearing seeking reinstatement. Shaw is now a football player at the University of Michigan.

Douglass and his coaching staff had been alleged to have recruited students from other schools on numerous occasions. One instance came this spring during a track meet, which prompted one area athletic director to call Trotwood AD Jim Ladd about the situation, though both ADs said the situation was resolved.

But the OHSAA deemed Douglass' role less than that of the former assistant. Douglass will be suspended from coaching in practices and contests for Weeks 3-5 of the regular season, during which time he will not be permitted to have any contact with team members.

Douglass will be allowed to make the trip to Texas for a game in Week 2 in the Herbstreit Varsity Series.

"We appreciate the OHSAA working closely with us on this situation," Trotwood principal Gerald Cox said. "The information that was shared with us indicates that there was a pattern of inappropriate action that occurred, so we believe the penalties that were agreed upon are appropriate.

"While we are disappointed that this situation has occurred, we have the utmost respect for the OHSAA and Commissioner Ross and plan to reinforce to our coaches, staff and community that upholding the standards of the OHSAA are of utmost importance to ensure that our student-athletes have the best experience possible while participating in interscholastic athletics."

Douglass and the rest of the staff will return this fall, with the exception of assistant Jeremy Beckham. Trotwood recently approved its trip to Texas, where the Rams will play Arlington Bowie at 9 p.m. Aug. 30 in Texas Stadium.

Trotwood was 8-4 last season, making the Division II, Region 8 playoffs. The Rams defeated Edgewood, earning the team's first postseason win since Douglass was in high school, before losing to Cincinnati Turpin. In his tenure, Douglass' teams have sent several players to Division I college programs and many more to lower divisions.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-6951 or mgokavi@DaytonDailyNews.com.