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Glenville High School was banned from the Ohio football playoffs.
Glenville High School has been disqualified from the Ohio football playoffs. The ruling comes amid an investigation into student-athlete participation.
At least one ineligible player was reportedly rostered. The decision will prevent the Tarblooders from winning a fourth title in five years.
This particular issue is one that’s been dealt with before under head coach Tedd Ginn, Sr. It’s gotten the school barred from previous postseason tournaments in the past.
Ohio high school football power banned from playoffs.
The @OHSAASports has removed Glenville High School from the 2026 football playoffs as part of an ongoing investigation into Cleveland Metropolitan School District inaccurately assigning student participation opportunities to Glenville.
— P.J. ZIEGLER (@PJFOX8) October 29, 2026
Glenville is a public school in Cleveland that serves grades 9-12. Information from the 2024-25 school year shows an enrollment of around 350 students. Despite the small size, it boasts a big football program.
The Tarblooders are currently the 27th-ranked high school football team in all of Ohio. They won the Senate League with a spotless 5-0 record in conference play this year. They went 8-2 overall to nab a No. 5 seed in the Division III, Region 9 playoffs.
Glenville has won three state titles dating back to 2022. Its pursuit of a fourth will not come this season.
The school has been disqualified for “inaccurately assigning student participation opportunities.” That wrongdoing directly involves a school started by the head coach.
Tedd Ginn, Sr. founded Ginn Academy which opened in 2007. It is an all-boys non-member magnet school designed for boys requiring additional help in academics and services.
Ginn Academy does not have a football team. Students have the option to play for the Cleveland Metro school closest to their residence should they want to compete in the sport. Apparently, Glenville was not following that policy.
Interestingly enough, the Tarblooders were barred from the 2018 playoff field for the same reason. They also received a $5,000 fine and probation through 2021.
Ohio High School Athletic Association speaks out.
“Recently we discovered several irregularities with students going to Ginn Academy and playing football at Glenville, which led us to conduct an audit of the participation opportunities for all fall sports student-athletes at Glenville High School,” said Doug Ute, OHSAA Executive Director.
“This week we confirmed that many players on Glenville’s football team should have been playing at other schools this season. It will take some time to examine all the information and determine the extent of the violations this season and potentially in previous seasons for all schools and teams within Cleveland Metro.”
The OHSAA found inconsistencies with player residences. Glenville had an illegal roster.
The roster issue is not the only scandal to break for the Tarblooders this season. In September, Ginn turned a handful of players over to authorities in response to a theft at a sporting goods store. Despite a meetup with police over the wrongdoing, the players played in a football game the following day.
Now, Glenville finds itself at the center of an investigation. The OHSAA is digging into its roster for both this season and years past.
As a result, the Tarblooders are barred from playoff competition. Their scheduled opponent will advance to the next round.