FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2, 2000


LaProgresiva Presbyterian School baseball team removed from playoffs for using ineligible player

GAINESVILLE – LaProgresiva Presbyterian School has been removed from competition in the 2000 FHSAA State Baseball Series for playing an ineligible student-athlete in last week's Class A District 15 Tournament, Florida High School Activities Association Commissioner Robert W. Hughes ruled today.

LaProgresiva Presbyterian, a private school located in Miami, was found to have played a student-athlete who had exceeded his permissible number of years of athletic eligibility. The school has been directed to forfeit all games won during the regular season and in the district tournament in which the student participated. LaProgresiva Presbyterian was the Class A District 15 runner-up. The school's berth in the Class A Region 4 Tournament Quarterfinal game that was scheduled to be played today has been vacated. Additional penalties will be forthcoming.

Brito Miami Private School, which was scheduled to be LaProgresiva Presbyterian's opponent in the regional quarterfinals, has been notified that it will automatically advance to the regional semifinals on Friday by way of a bye.

"FHSAA Bylaw 11.5.1 states that a student is limited to three consecutive years of eligibility once he or she enters the 10th grade," Hughes said. "Our investigation found that this student entered the 10th grade at the beginning of the 1994-95 school year. Therefore, he became ineligible for further interscholastic competition at the end of the 1996-97 school year."

LaProgresiva Presbyterian has been notified in writing of Hughes' decision.

The Florida High School Activities Association is the governing body for interscholastic athletics in Florida. It has a membership of 615 middle schools, junior high schools and high schools.

Contact:
Jack Watford
Director of Communications, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 170
jwatford@fhsaa.org