UIL votes not to remove Katy from playoffs for using ineligible player

Katy's season will not end with a playoff forfeit after the Tigers were given a reprieve by the UIL's State Executive Committee on Thursday. Katy's season will not end with a playoff forfeit after the Tigers were given a reprieve by the UIL's State Executive Committee on Thursday. Photo: Wilf Thorne, For The Chronicle Photo: Wilf Thorne, For The Chronicle Image 1 of / 194 Caption Close UIL votes not to remove Katy from playoffs for using ineligible player 1 / 194 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN - Katy's powerhouse football program hasn't lost a game this year, but the seven-time state champions survived a scare Thursday that almost cost them the season.

And it didn’t happen on a football field, but in a room in Austin in front of a three-person panel deciding its fate.

Facing a possible forfeiture of its 66-0 playoff win last week over Friendswood - due to using an ineligible player for 10 offensive snaps when Katy already led by more than 50 points - the football team was granted a mercy rule by the University Interscholastic League's State Executive Committee at an emergency hearing at the league's office.

As a result, Katy will not be disqualified from the playoffs. The Tigers will face Manvel on Friday night at NRG Stadium in the Class 6A Division II state quarterfinals.

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“They haven’t done anything wrong in this process,” Katy head coach Gary Joseph said of his players. “If there was something done wrong, it was by the adults and I don’t want to see the kids punished for that.”

Katy High School did receive a public reprimand and placed on probation for one year. The ineligible student, a sophomore who transferred to Katy from Seven Lakes last month, is ineligible for the remainder of the football season.

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The mistake came from Katy ISD athletic director Debbie Decker not knowing a rule was in place that made the student ineligible despite clearing all of the usual checks and procedures.

The UIL acknowledged the placement of the rule and it’s confusion. It’s in a separate section - away from the transfer procedure - in the UIL constitution and Contest rules. Charles Breithaupt, the league’s executive director, said there have been many complaints.

Once a team's eligibility list is submitted for the postseason, there can't be additions.

The other checks in this case, which included verifying new residence, the previous athletics participation form filled out by the former school, 15-day wait period after enrollment and a home visit were all sufficient.

“I didn't want the kids to be punished for my mistake,” said Decker, who was visibly emotional after the decision was handed down. “A rule was broken, although not on purpose, but I knew there would have to punishments for that, and I was hopeful that they wouldn't penalize the kids for an adult mistake.”

At the same time, Decker’s immediate self-reporting once the mistake was found, her diligence and process, one the committee commended her on and said it has used as an example in the past, helped make the difference.

“Rules are rules,” said Mike Motheral, chair of the state executive committee. “I don't disagree with that, but we also have - inside that constitution - something written in very specific that says 'exceptions.' We followed those to the T today because there were three criteria and they met every one of them.

“There was no intent on their part, they self reported - these folks have good reputations - and there was no real advantage gained.”

Had the committee ruled against Katy, the likely penalty would have been forfeiting the win and the Tigers being removed from the playoffs.

That situation happened to the program in 1998 days before the state finals. A player who participated in three plays during the playoffs falsified his grades and forged a teacher’s signature. Katy was pulled from the postseason, with the team notified as it was loading the buses for its trip to state.

San Antonio MacArthur went to the finals instead despite losing to Katy in the semifinals. The team had less than a day to prepare and lost to Midland lee 54-0.

Katy will play on in 2015.

“I think these people did the right thing for the kids and we are very thrilled with the consequence,” Joseph said.

Said Motheral: “We have to consider not only what's best for the kids at Katy High School, but when we make a decision, it's about what's best for all kids everywhere not only this year but in the future.

“We didn't open the gate - we went through and we vetted the whole situation. We knew what was going on and that rule is just as solid as it's always been and will continue to be.”