One of the nation’s most successful high school football programs has been banned from postseason play for the next four years, and also will be barred from accepting outside donations for four years.
The Bellevue (Wash.) High School football program was sanctioned Tuesday for numerous rules violations.
The sanctions were among many levied by a committee of KingCo Conference athletic directors against the Bellevue (Wash.) High School football program Tuesday, according to a story in the Seattle Times.
Sanctions include the postseason and donations ban; no out-of-state opponents for four seasons; no non-league football games for two seasons; a four-year probation imposed on the Bellevue athletic department; stricter guidelines and conference oversight for incoming transfer and student-athletes for two years; and the possible forfeiture of state championships.
Bellevue has won 11 state championships since 2001, and also built a 67-game winning streak during that span.
But the team and its coaches have been accused of violating state rules for years, while the school’s administrators were found to have ignored the violations.
The KingCo committee, in findings released before sanctions were imposed Tuesday, cited the Bellevue football program for numerous violations including illegal recruitment of athletes and payment to athletes; failure to self-report money provided to players’ families; using false addresses to gain eligibility; and payments being made to coaches without school district approval, among others.
Bellevue can appeal the sanctions to KingCo principals within five school days, then can appeal to the executive board of the SeaKing District and ultimately to the executive board of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), according to the Seattle Times.
