The forfeits drop Jefferson’s record to 9-10 entering its sectional opener against Troy Christian at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Troy High School.
White said the school’s athletic director, Dan Fernbacher, communicated with the Ohio High School Athletic Association before the season about the eligibility of a transfer player. The OHSAA told Fernbacher the player was eligible but later ruled him ineligible when asked to investigate, White said.
Bob Goldring, an OHSAA associate commissioner, said the association made the first eligibility ruling “based on verbal information.”
“When that ruling was questioned some time later, the OHSAA requested written documentation of what had been previously shared verbally, and those documents showed that the student was (not) eligible,” Goldring wrote in an e-mail.
Goldring said Jefferson officials appeared at an OHSAA Board of Directors meeting last week to appeal, but that the board unanimously upheld the ruling.
White declined to name the player involved, saying the reasons for the transfer were personal.
“It was a change in custody because of some family challenges,” White said.
Fernbacher and Jefferson coach Art Winston referred questions on the matter to White.
Two seasons ago, Jefferson was disqualified from the boys basketball tournament for using a home-schooled player who had been cleared for the first quarter of the season but was later ruled academically ineligible.
The Broncos had advanced to the regional semifinal with a 24-point defeat of Lockland, the state’s fourth-ranked team, when they learned of the disqualification.
Goldring said the OHSAA, in a common practice, asked Jefferson officials to visit its Columbus offices to address “concerns over a recent pattern of OHSAA bylaws/regulations violations.”
“They were told to make sure they were doing a better job communicating key regulations and the importance of following OHSAA regulations with their administrators, coaches, student-athletes and their parents,” Goldring wrote.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7389 or knagel@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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