Washed_Up_Athlete

While I have not seen a copy of a decision, the rumor is that Hartfield's appeal was denied yesterday.

Lafayette v. Hartfield West Jones v. Jackson Prep Oak Grove v. MRA I'm a sucker for the MHSAA-MAIS matchups.

"super-marketed" - funny

The MAIS recruiting rule states that, "The recruiting and/or undue influence of a student-athlete of a MAIS member school by anyone directly or indirectly associated with another member school shall result in said school being placed on probation, and not being eligible for the championship in all sports for a period of one (1) year. In addition, a fine in the amount of $500.00 shall be assessed the school in violation. Further, such recruiting and/or undue influence shall cause the student-athlete to be ineligible for one (1) year if he or she transfers. Recruiting and/or undue influence would include (but not be limited to) a student-athlete receiving merchandise such as clothing and equipment and/or moneys for the individual's expenditures." There are a few things that stand out from the Hartfield ruling when you consider the text of the rule. First, the ruling only makes Hartfield's football team ineligible for the championship. But the rule says the offending school "shall" not be eligible for a championship "in all sports." It doesn't say "may not." It seems like the MAIS exercised discretion to limit Hartfield's punishment when it didn't have discretion to do so. Second, the rule says that "such recruiting and/or undue influence shall cause the student-athlete to be ineligible for one (1) year if he or she transfers." Vaughn transferred, but the MAIS didn't rule him ineligible. Again, it seems like the MAIS exercised discretion to limit the punishment when it didn't have such discretion. Third, the rule says the fine is $500. The MAIS fined Hartfield $7500. This implies Hartfield violated the rule 15 times.

It's a tougher call than it may seem at first thought. If you believe the administration knew or recklessly disregarded the violations (and it seems that it did, particularly given the "internal investigation" conducted), then how else can you punish the administration? Fine the board or headmaster or AD or some group of them? I doubt the MAIS has the authority to do that, and if it does, I doubt it has the stomach for it. It seems like the only way to punish the administration is to punish the school. While there are "guilty" players, the overwhelming majority of the players are "innocent." It seems to me that the way to avoid punishing innocent kids and of punishing guilty adults is to allow kids to transfer to other MAIS schools without having to sit out and without having to make hardship applications. The NCAA does this when it puts a school on probation for recruiting violations - look no further than Ole Miss a few years ago.

I'm sure Hartfield will consider letting them go, but I wonder how that would impact the team morale. Lindsay coached at least 4 of the team's best players when they were with the Wolfpack. My guess is that the relationships there are pretty solid. Plus, I understand Lindsay is really well liked by most, if not all, of the other players. Letting him go could cause more harm than good to the team's psyche, not to mention the practical impact of losing two coaches within a few days of the first game. Maybe the administration will believe the school has to let the coaches go. I'd understand that. This is a really bad look and the administration may think it can save some face by taking disciplinary action. But . . . it is no secret that Hartfield recruited several kids for the exclusive purpose of football whose tuition is being paid by boosters. This is also a violation of MAIS rules. It's just harder to prove. Maybe the administration will convince themselves that Hartfield was unfairly targeted and will use this as a rallying cry. It'll be interesting to see how things develop.

Yes they would be, but in all honesty, I can't imagine the MAIS approving hardship applications for Hartfield athletes transferring to other MAIS schools. The more likely scenario would be transfers to public schools. Or they all stay, they rally around be "unfairly" punished, they try to win out, and if they do, they claim they're the real best team. If I were to bet on it, I'd bet on this.

Yeah, the recruiting ban rule only addresses recruiting from another MAIS school.

For a transferring student to be eligible, the MAIS handbook implies that the player or the school to which he transfers would need to make a hardship application to the MAIS. There are a few rules that work together on this. 1. "One School-Year "Sit Out" Period - Any student-athlete who transfers from one member school to another member school shall be ineligible to participate for a period of one (1) year. The Director of Activities and/or Eligibility Committee must approve any hardship case." 2. A hardship case is "any case where extenuating circumstances concerning the eligibility of a student warrants a review by the AAC or the Eligibility Committee." 3. The handbook also explains that, "the Director of Activities or the Eligibility Committee may consider a hardship application from the school to which a student who is ineligible for interscholastic athletic competition and does not qualify for the standard exception. The Committee's willingness to consider a hardship application is not a guarantee that eligibility will be granted. The Committee may consider evidence presented by the school as to why the student's failure to prove he or she falls under the exception policy should, nevertheless, be granted an exemption. In weighing its decision, the Committee may also consider evidence contrary to the school's evidence. In no wise is the Committee bound by the Rules of Civil Procedure or evidentiary rules in state prosecutions during its deliberations."

I told y’all that what they are doing is illegal.

Alfred works with Mike Espy and played 7v7 with MESH (Mike Espy, Shay Hodge). There weren't any Saraland players on the MESH team, as far as I know. It's all MS kids.

Prep beat Hartfield twice last year at Hartfield. Prep will be just as talented this year, if not better. Hartfield has a lot of D1-level players - Womack in the secondary, Jones at LB, Jeslowski at RB, West at WR, the o-lineman, and a pair of defensive tackles. But Hartfield's QB situation is very questionable. Overall, the team talent is pretty even. Defensively, Prep has a more talented secondary. But Hartfield is more talented at linebacker and d-line. Offensively, Prep has a more talented QB and a more talented overall receiving core. O-Line is probably a wash, but if I had to choose, I'd say Prep has a slight edge there. RB slightly favors Hartfield. Coaching weighs pretty heavily in Prep's favor. Obviously, health can dramatically change things for both teams. Assuming both teams are healthy, Hartfield has more players with D1-level talent, but Prep is the better high school football team. FWIW, Prep pounded Hartfield in the Mississippi State 7v7 camp a month ago and played with a depleted roster.

It's so hot early in the season. Later-starts make a lot of sense.

In MAIS 6A for next year, I'd say: 1) Jackson Prep 2) MRA 3) JA 4) Hartfield 5) PCS 6) St. Joe (Madison)

I heard University High in Baton Rouge.

PCS had a really good receiver from Alabama that came with the coach they had last year. The kid left before the season ended. My guess is that there was some rule skirting going on in that instance. I don't know the dynamics within the school regarding recruiting. It could be that the controlling families/parents/administration would prefer to lose with their own kids than be competitive. Maybe that had something to do with their newly-hired coach leaving after less than a year on the job. But I really don't know. Regarding MRA, the school has been active in the transfer portal since the 1980s. But most of its numbers/talent are due to its location. The only point I was trying to make is that PCS also has a good location that seems like it should allow it to at least occasionally be competitive with the Jackson schools. I can only remember one year it was competitive though - Woullard's senior year.

This is an interesting job. It seems like PCS should be really good in football and baseball year-in, year-out. The school is surrounded by Hattiesburg, Oak Grove, Purvis, and other communities with top-notch talent that PCS should be able to attract. It isn't situated that differently from MRA in that regard. But PCS is seldom competitive.

Jackson Academy- DJ Watkins, AJ Parker Jackson Prep- Thomas Coco, Cole Allen, Major Quin, Cole Gideon

Recruiting doesn’t violate the rules of either association. Private schools wouldn’t exist without recruiting students. Recruiting isn’t the problem. The problem is recruiting + a third-party paying the student’s tuition + for the reason of increasing the school’s athletic prospects. This plainly violates the rules, but it also has resulted in increasing the competition among the best 6A schools and with public schools. The MAIS has looked the other way because this increased competitiveness has, by and large, benefited the perception of the quality of play in these top programs and because it’s run by a MRA booster, and MRA has long been involved in violating the rules. Enforcing the rules would have indirectly hurt Blanton’s son, so they weren’t enforced. Along comes Hartfield, which sees the rules aren’t being enforced, and it takes MRA’s playbook and ups it to the next level.

Tripp Maxwell tore his acl?

MHSAA should get the Raider Network to carry the championships. It’s first class. Bryan Eubank does a great job.

I was told that dad got carried away at a game and was asked by the school or MAIS officials to not return to the school for a period of time (maybe the rest of the year?). Later in the year, his daughter was in the homecoming court and he returned to the school to watch her. When he was discovered at the game, he was once again asked to leave and was later banned for a year. This is all hearsay, so I'm sure it's wrong in some degree but that's what I seem to recall.

No. And I have no idea whether it ever would be if MAIS school(s) decided to make the jump. It's just a discussion point that sounds reasonable.

I've heard the QB is headed to MC now that his father has been banned from MAIS events for a year. Given that his father fronts the costs for several players at St. Joe, one would think that he'd stop doing so if his son no longer attends St. Joe.

My understanding is that a 1.5 multiplier is what was discussed back when certain MAIS school(s) explored moving to the MHSAA.