Lipscomb Academy’s high school football program received a two-year postseason ban from the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association on Friday. The ruling comes during the first year without Trent Dilfer as head coach after he left for UAB in the offseason.
Pro Football Hall of Fame center Kevin Mawae, who played 16 years in the NFL with the Jets, Seahawks and Titans, took over for Dilfer. The Mustangs also made the move to the highest level of competition in the state of Tennessee this season after winning back-to-back state championships. They are 4-5 with one game left in the regular season.
Friday’s regular-season finale will also be their final game of the year, if the TSSAA gets its way.
A letter from Lipscomb Academy head of school Brad Schultz and athletic director Jake House sent a letter announcing the news. They said that the program is being punished for “what the TSSAA deems a recruiting violation.”
The Mustangs are being placed under restrictive probation for the next two seasons. That will keep them out of the playoffs if the ruling stands.
However, Lipscomb plans to appeal the decision to the TSSAA Board of Control on Monday.
We are extremely disappointed to be in this situation. There are many emotions tied to this consequence as the implications are multi-faceted. Bear with us as we work through the appeals process.
— Brad Schultz and Jake House in a letter to football families
According to Tom Kreager of The Tennesseean, an investigation into the program began last month.
Lipscomb Academy allegedly committed multiple violations this season.
TSSAA found that two players who were ruled ineligible for the season played in at least one game this season despite their status. Lipscomb proposed that it would forfeit its lone win that included those players.
TSSAA also discovered a recruiting violation. It was “based on a brief text conversation between a football assistant coach and a former parent.”
To be clear — based on the current information — Trent Dilfer is not involved with the violations. He just happened to coach the team last season and brought it up to nationally-relevant status.
There are still more details to come out. However, the postseason ban stems from Mawae’s time as head coach. It has nothing to do with Dilfer… as far as we know.