One of the Bay Area’s most prominent private schools is having to forfeit all six of its football wins this season for use of an ineligible player. Bellarmine was handed a notice of violation from the Central Coast Section this week over the eligibility of a transfer student and forced to forfeit all six of its wins, the school confirmed to SFGATE on Wednesday. Bay Area News Group was first to report on the Bells’ punishments on Tuesday.
The Bells entered this week 6-3 overall and 3-3 in the powerhouse West Catholic Athletic League but are now considered to be 0-9 and 0-6, respectively. The school, though, is not acknowledging the forfeited results as final just yet. Bellarmine did not respond to a number of questions SFGATE asked the school in its email, but it sent the letter that principal Rod Jemison sent to parents in which the school says it is looking into legal actions.
Advertisement
“We do not dispute that a violation occurred. However, we disagree with the severity of the associated consequences and their impact on the entire team,” Jemison’s statement reads. “Despite our objections, we have been informed that the decision cannot be appealed with the CCS Commissioner’s Office. As such, we are pursuing legal avenues to challenge the forfeiture of games.”
CCS Commissioner Dave Grissom confirmed the news to SFGATE in a phone call on Wednesday but said he could not comment any further because of the possibility of litigation.
Bay Area News Group also reported that CCS looked into an eligibility concern at WCAL rival Serra, which officially clinched the league title on Saturday in a 49-14 win at Riordan. But the section ruled that Serra did not have to forfeit any games at the conclusion of its investigation. (Grissom confirmed what was in Bay Area News Group’s report but declined further comment.)
WCAL Commissioner Jolene Fugate did not respond to SFGATE’s request for comment about the investigations into two of the league’s eight schools.
Bellarmine running back Joey Sanfilippo, tight end Alex Abiog, and tackle Dominic Luca playing varsity football at San Jose City College in San Jose, Calif., as De La Salle wins over Bellarmine, 41-7, on Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. (S.F. Chronicle/Getty Images)
It had been looking like a resurgent year for Bellarmine, an all-boys Jesuit school founded in 1851 that is one of the most well-known and prominent schools in the entire Bay Area. (Famous alums include former Giants slugger Pat Burrell, Congressman Sam Liccardo and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.) The Bells had been a football powerhouse in the past but won only four games in the past three years. Under first-year head coach Tom Williams, though, Bellarmine won all three nonleague games and looked vastly improved in the highly competitive WCAL.
Advertisement
That all changed with Monday’s decision, which will have a major ripple effect beyond just Bellarmine, as the CCS playoffs start next week. The teams that lost to the Bells will now be declared the winners of those games, including three schools in the WCAL – Sacred Heart Cathedral, Valley Christian and Archbishop Mitty. The new results create a three-way tie for fifth place in the league among St. Francis, Mitty and Valley Christian, and only the top six teams in the eight-team league can make the playoffs. For the non-league schools that Bellarmine faced, a sudden win over an “A League” team can help vault them into a higher playoff position.
Bellarmine has said it will play its final game of the season on Saturday, when it is scheduled to play at Riordan in the afternoon. The school did not answer if there will be any punishments for coaches who may have been involved in the violations when SFGATE asked.
“We have begun an internal review to establish the best path forward,” Jemison’s statement read. “We acknowledge that it is Bellarmine’s responsibility to ensure compliance and understanding of CIF and CCS regulations, and we are committed to identifying and addressing any gaps in our oversight.”
Most Read
Advertisement
Live California midterm election results
News |
Calif. students severely injured in Spain train crash that killed 69
Weather |
Satellite shows ocean phenomenon traveling north on Calif. coast
Food |
SF cafe opening in the spring could see 1 million visitors a year
Read our stories ad-free on the new SFGATE app.
This article originally published at Bellarmine forfeits 6 high school football wins for using ineligible player.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
