The Sabino High School girls basketball team has forfeited nine games, due to a self-reported recruiting violation.
The forfeiture is related to a Tucson Unified School District investigation into a violation of Arizona Interscholastic Association rules regarding prior contact with players, according to an email from TUSD officials.
Despite the forfeiture, Sabino is still No. 1 in the 3A conference, and will have a good chance at postseason play, according to the email.
The Star contacted the AIA on Jan. 18, regarding a tip about the alleged violations.
At that time, AIA spokesman Seth Polansky told the Star, βTucson Unified School District completed a thorough investigation into the matter and came to the conclusion that there were not any violations. The AIA accepted this assessment and the matter is closed.β
After TUSD concluded its investigation, Sabinoβs administration discovered new evidence related to violations of prior contact, and passed the findings along to TUSD officials and the AIA, Polansky said.
βThe penalty in this situation is forfeiture of the games played with the ineligible player,β Polansky told the Star in an email Wednesday.
βSabino remains eligible for the postseason,β he said. βSince the team has already played at least the minimum number of games to qualify, it remains eligible.β
The AIAβs ranking formula is a power-rated system, therefore it canβt determine who would have won the game if the ineligible player didnβt participate, Polansky said.
Sabino has gone 4-0 in four other games against teams in the power ranking.
βIt keeps the team at No. 1 in the rankings based off those four games,β Polansky said, adding that there is no current AIA action against Sabino High School or its girls basketball program.
