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COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio High School Athletic Association has announced that Cincinnati North College Hill High School’s Bill Walker, a senior-to-be who has played on the school’s basketball team the past three seasons, has completed his eligibility at all OHSAA member schools, Commissioner Dan Ross has announced. The ruling, based on the Association’s eight-semester bylaw, was made following an investigation that lasted over two months. “This has been a long process, but we have conducted a thorough review of the situation, have turned over every stone and have kept in communication with administrators at North College Hill along with Bill (Walker) and his representatives,” Ross said. “Based on the information we have received, Bill has exhausted his eligibility because he has participated at the high school level for eight semesters, which is the maximum permitted according to our bylaws. While we certainly feel for Bill and his family, the bylaws are specific and neither the OHSAA Board of Control nor I have the authority to waive these regulations, which have been put in place by all of our member schools.” “There has been conflicting information about Bill insofar as what year in school he was enrolled prior to his arrival at North College Hill,” Kelly Hughes, Principal at North College Hill, said. “Based on information provided to us and records received at his enrollment (February 2003), Bill was enrolled as an eighthgrade student at North College Hill Junior-Senior High School. “The documentation the OHSAA recently shared with us indicates that Bill completed two semesters of eligibility prior to his arrival at NCH, and, obviously, he has completed six semesters while at our school. While we are sad and disappointed for Bill, his teammates and our community, we have the utmost respect for the OHSAA and Commissioner Ross and believe the ruling was made accurately based on the information they have received.” OHSAA Bylaw 4-3-4, Enrollment and Attendance, says that “After a student completes the eighth grade . . . the student shall be eligible for a period not to exceed eight semesters taken in order of attendance, whether the student participates or not.” The OHSAA review revealed that Walker attended Rose Hill Christian School in Ashland, Ky., as a ninth grader during the 2002-03 school year and participated in basketball contests in both semesters of that school year. After transferring to North College Hill in February 2003, he participated for three more years (six semesters) at the Ohio school during the 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons. He helped the Trojans win the OHSAA Division III state championship in both 2005 and 2006. The Ohio High School Athletic Association is a voluntary, not-for-profit association of public and non-public high schools and 7th-8th grade schools that was organized in 1906. The mission of the OHSAA is to regulate and administer interscholastic athletic competition in a fair and equitable manner while promoting the values of participation in interscholastic athletics. Membership includes over 800 high school and 800 7th-8th grade schools, representing over 300,000 participants. Every member high school has an equal (one) vote in determining the constitution and bylaws of the OHSAA. Discuss Here |
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