The Alabama High School Athletic Association announced at the end of last week that Jacksonville High School’s head football coach Jeremy Sullivan and assistant coach Phileepae Holloway would be suspended for the remainder of the 2026 season and the school would be banned from the postseason.
According to USA Today, Jacksonville High School has been accused of violating the AHSAA rules on recruiting. AHSAA Rule VI, Administration, Section 12, Recruiting states that “no person connected in any way with a school may contact a student or prospective student, or his/her parents or guardian, who resides outside of the school district to inquire or encourage them to transfer or enroll in their school for the chief purpose of participating in interscholastic athletics.”
AHSAA was alerted to the violation on Sept. 4, and the school was placed on probation while an investigation was conducted.
The students involved in the recruitment controversy were not named by AHSAA or Jacksonville High School, but the organization told USA Today that the students would be permanently banned from participating in athletics.
Jacksonville will be permitted to continue competing in the regular season, but the results of those games will not count for its opponents’ regional standings. Any previous games in which the ineligible student-athletes participated have been forfeited.
Despite the sanctions, Jacksonville High School leaders have refuted these allegations.
In a statement, the school said, “Jacksonville High School does not agree with the ruling issued by AHSAA Executive Director Heath Harmon following the investigation conducted by AHSAA regarding alleged recruiting violations. After carefully reviewing the ruling and the circumstances surrounding the investigation, Jacksonville High School will move forward with the formal appeal process. We will continue to support our students and staff members who are impacted by this decision and will fully participate in the appeal process.”
