FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, October 15, 2007
Mount Dora Bible School penalized for violations in its athletic program
GAINESVILLE – Mount Dora Bible School has been penalized by the FHSAA for violations in its athletic program.
The investigation, initiated due to an official letter of complaint from a member school, originally centered around the transfer of a student-athlete to Mount Dora Bible from Mount Dora High School, and a Mount Dora Bible football coach allegedly speaking to players from Mount Dora High while attending a junior varsity football contest at Mount Dora High. The investigation found no evidence to support that the transfer of the student-athlete in question was based on athletic reasons, but did conclude that the Mount Dora Bible football coach made statements to Mount Dora High students in an effort to encourage these students to enroll at Mount Dora Bible.
During the course of the initial investigation, the FHSAA was made aware of other circumstances relating to a Mount Dora Bible student living with a junior varsity basketball coach. The student-athlete was ineligible to represent Mount Dora Bible during the coach's tenure at the school.
In a letter dated Sept. 21, 2007, Mount Dora Bible headmaster Pat Todd presented the following actions taken and instituted by the school to address FHSAA violations:
• The football coach was dismissed in Fall 2006 for attending a subsequent outside athletic contest in violation of his agreement with Mount Dora Bible;
• The school established admission policies that mandate court documents to verify guardianship;
• The school created a document that must be notarized addressing recruiting for prospective families, in addition to the new FHSAA recruiting affidavit;
• The school established a policy where a student who lives in Lake County and transfers to Mount Dora Bible after the ninth grade year will be ineligible for one school year, unless the student obtains written confirmation from the departing school principal;
• The school will form a partnership to help facilitate goodwill among all schools in Lake County in conjunction with the Lake County public school athletic administration;
• The school's athletic director and coaches will attend the Lake County athletic information forum; and
• The school's coaches are restricted from participating in any form of AAU or "travel ball" in the sport in which they coach at Mount Dora Bible.
Considering the cooperation and proactive measures taken by the school, the following penalties were imposed in this case:
1. Reprimand.
2. Mount Dora Bible's entire athletic program is placed on administrative probation for the remainder of the 2007-08 school year. Administrative probation is a period of warning during which additional violations committed by the school could result in more severe penalties than would normally be imposed.
3. The school is fined $500.
FHSAA bylaws ensure the school's right to appeal the Commissioner's findings, as well as the penalties assessed. The school has 10 business days to notify in writing the FHSAA Office if it intends to file an appeal.
» click here to download the public report (37 ppg., PDF, 2.72 MB)
About the FHSAA
The Florida High School Athletic Association is the governing body for interscholastic athletic competition in Florida. It has a membership of more than 750 middle and senior public and private high schools. More information is available at www.fhsaa.org.
Contact:
Robert Hernberger
Director of Media Relations, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 190
rhernberger@fhsaa.org
