May River High School has forfeited 10 football games and seven boys basketball games from 2018 after self-reporting the use of an ineligible player, the Beaufort County School District announced Friday.
The school has sent letters to several schools announcing the forfeitures due to a student-athlete’s paperwork that did not meet the requirements of the South Carolina High School League (SCHSL).
The student in question was a transfer who enrolled at May River in August 2018 after providing an affidavit that demonstrated a change in legal guardianship. The student’s new legal guardian was a resident in May River’s attendance zone, and an affidavit is an acceptable form of proof to establish residency for purposes of enrollment.
However, the SCHSL requires a court document to establish athletic eligibility. The student’s affidavit, while sufficient for enrollment purposes, did not meet SCHSL regulations.
BCSD Director of Communications Jim Foster said no coaches faced disciplinary action, because the error was outside their area of responsibility.
“These were administrative issues that didn’t involve the coaching staff,” Foster said. “There have been no changes to the coaching staff.”
The issue came to the forefront when officials reviewed eligibility questions regarding the 2019 season, Foster said. While no concerns were found with the 2019 eligibility paperwork, the mistake from the previous season came to light.
After determining that SCHSL rules might have been violated in 2018, May River self-reported to the league last month. Following a review, the SCHSL directed the forfeiture of 2018 athletic contests – 10 football games and seven basketball games – in which the newly enrolled student was in uniform.
The school received notice that it would be required to forfeit the contests on Nov. 19 and had to review the participation records to determine which games the ineligible player competed in before preparing the communications to go out to the schools affected.
The ruling takes away all but one of the Sharks’ wins during a season in which they went undefeated in the regular season and finished 11-1 overall. The forfeits include games against Bluffton, Whale Branch, Hilton Head High, Ridgeland-Hardeeville, and Beaufort High, as well as a win over Wade Hampton that clinched the Region 8-3A championship and playoff victories over Lake City and Gilbert.
Foster said it will be left up to runner-up Wade Hampton to determine whether it will accept the Sharks’ forfeiture of the region championship.
The district is not announcing which basketball wins must be forfeited, because doing so might identify the student in question, which would violate federal privacy laws.
The high school also received a $500 fine that has been paid using student activity funds raised through ticket sales at athletic events and other fund raisers.
To safeguard against similar documentation violations in the future, May River Athletics Director Brett Macy said the school will have two separate people – himself and the school’s eligibility coordinator – review and evaluate documentation on all transfers of student athletes.