The Arizona Interscholastic Association's Executive Board has adopted an emergency bylaw that will make in-season, out-of-state high school transfers ineligible to participate in team sports for one year.
As reported by Richard Obert of the Arizona Republic, AIA executive director Jim Dean said the new bylaw, adopted via an early Zoom meeting Friday, excludes military transfer students. He added that a hardship appeal process could be considered if deemed necessary by the school receiving the new student. An example of a hardship would be if a family has to relocate to Arizona due to a job move.
According to InfoCityBA, the action was a direct outcome of four football players moving to Mesa Senior High School this month. They were among 19 players at Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance, Calif., who were ruled ineligible by the California Interscholastic Federation following an investigation into a transfer-for-money scandal.
The 19 players were ruled ineligible to play in the CIA for two years. They’re noted in the CIF-Southern Area transfer website as being denied qualification at Bishop Montgomery, which suspended its entire football season, InfoCityBA's Swaim Hull reported.
Per Hull's reporting, the four players who signed up at Mesa on Sept. 15 will not be affected by the new policies, which took effect Sept. 19. Nonetheless, Dean said the rule change needed to be made, as California players look to transfer to Arizona schools moving forward.
