Archbishop Murphy football will forfeit four games — turning three wins into losses — as a result of investigations into player eligibility conducted by the Wesco Conference and the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), which the WIAA confirmed to The Herald on Friday. The WIAA Executive Board also placed Archbishop Murphy’s athletic department on a one-year probation.
The Wildcats (now 5-4 overall, 4-4 in league) will remain eligible for the postseason, and will advance as one of District 1’s five Class 2A State tournament entries, representatives from the Northwest Conference confirmed.
“On October 29, the WIAA Executive Board convened for an appeal hearing regarding Archbishop Murphy High School and the application of WIAA Handbook 18.12.5,” the WIAA statement said. “After consideration of provided materials and information from Archbishop Murphy representatives, the WIAA Executive Board voted to uphold the forfeitures for use of an ineligible participant.
“That decision was made on the basis that an individual from a 7v7 football program’s involvement in a student transfer was sufficient to apply WIAA Handbook 18.12.5.”
WIAA Handbook 18.12.5 states: “A high school student who attends, participated or was eligible to participate for a school, and subsequently transfers to another school will be eligible for sub-varsity only in all sports played during the previous calendar year from the date of enrollment at the new school, if the student transfers from a public, private or charter school after:
Handbook 18.12.5.1: “Participating on a non-school athletic team within a calendar year from the date of enrollment at the new school, in which one or more of the high school coaches affiliated with another school to which the student transfers are currently involved and/or:
Handbook 18.12.5.2: “Receiving personal athletic or activities instruction or training, including weight training and conditioning, from a person affiliated with another school to which the student transfers.” Handbook 18.12.5.3 states varsity ineligibility applies even if the entire family unit conducts a “bona fide” change of residence.
On top of the forfeitures, the WIAA added: “In accordance with WIAA Handbook 28.2.5, the WIAA Executive Board placed Archbishop Murphy’s athletic department on probation for one year, ending October 29, 2027. Additionally, Archbishop Murphy’s athletic director will be required to complete further WIAA-approved compliance training prior to the end of the current school year.”
WIAA Handbook 28.2.5 details the process in how reports of alleged violations are filed, which starts at the league level and is forwarded to “the appropriate WIAA District Board, then to the District Directors Appeals Board, then to the WIAA Executive Board for review.”
Archbishop Murphy provided the following statement: “Our responsibility has always been, and will continue to be, to put students first.
“Archbishop Murphy High School is deeply disappointed and will continue to appeal the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) Executive Board’s decision to uphold the eligibility determination and resulting football forfeitures following the school’s appeal on October 29, 2026. While we respect the WIAA’s role in governing interscholastic athletics, we strongly disagree with this outcome.
“The forfeitures imposed through WESCO and the WIAA affect an entire football program, including student-athletes who had no involvement in the circumstances under review. These young people have dedicated countless hours to their team, their school, and one another. They deserve to have their hard work and opportunities protected, not taken away as a consequence of a disputed eligibility determination.”
The ineligible player transferred to Archbishop Murphy from Woodinville over the offseason. The initial concerns alleged members of the Wildcats football coaching staff encouraged players to enroll at the school and join the football program while involved with the “Wipe Me Down Boyz” 7-on-7 team. The 7-on-7 version of football is a non-contact, passing-focused offseason game popular among youth and high school players.
Both the player and Archbishop Murphy coaching staff’s involvement in “Wipe Me Down Boyz” was deemed enough to apply WIAA Handbook 18.12.5.
The Hearing
According to the WIAA Executive Board meeting minutes from Thursday, the allegations originally involved two students who were in seventh- and eighth-grade, respectively, in May 2025.
The meeting minutes state Archbishop Murphy athletic director Jeff Latta “believes it is extremely challenging to track all comments made to students by coaches and affiliated members of a school, and to track the involvement of every incoming ninth grader.”
The Archbishop Murphy coach in question is a brother of one of the players, who received eligibility after the allegation was filed, according to the minutes. Latta expressed that the coach was on-site to support his brother and “had no involvement in the non-school team or program.”
The Board questioned why non-coaches would be allowed in the huddle or awards pictures with the non-school program, and Latta replied that Archbishop Murphy has no control over the non-school program.
Latta said he believes WIAA Handbook 18.12.5 should be changed to eliminate confusion surrounding those situations, and wanted to take on any penalty directly for his role in determining eligibility rather than having penalties assessed to the football program.
Legal counsel representing Archbishop Murphy indicated the school “will also seek a permanent injunction and request judges review the rule as, in her opinion, the rule is arbitrary and capricious.”
Once the Archbishop Murphy contingent was excused from the meeting, the Executive Board moved to support the decision of the WIAA District Directors, which passed. The Board also passed a motion to place the athletic department on a one-year probation.
The Postseason Ramifications
The official decision comes hours after the Wildcats defeated Lynden 35-14 on Thursday. The forfeitures impacted the four games in which the ineligible player participated, including wins against Bellingham, Sehome and Burlington-Edison. Archbishop Murphy also lost to Anacortes during that span, which remains a loss.
Games against Sultan and Lakewood on Oct. 16 and 23, respectively, were each taken off the schedule after each team opted out of playing against Archbishop Murphy. NWC rules allow the bottom two teams to opt out of facing the top two teams, and the Wildcats could not find non-league matchups to replace those games.
The NWC clarified that those “opt-outs” from Sultan and Lakewood will go down as wins for Archbishop Murphy, which makes the Wildcats’ updated record 5-4 overall and 4-4 in league.
Five teams from the NWC 2A advance to the state tournament representing District 1, and representatives from the conference confirmed that Archbishop Murphy (5-4, 4-4) is among the teams advancing, along with Lynden (7-2 overall, 7-1 in league), Anacortes (7-1, 7-1), Burlington-Edison (7-2, 6-2) and Squalicum (4-5, 4-4).
Despite the Archbishop Murphy athletic department entering a one-year probation, the football program is still eligible to compete in the postseason under WIAA Handbook 28.5.3, which states that “during a probationary period, a school may participate in all interscholastic activities unless stipulated otherwise by the League, WIAA District or WIAA Executive Board.”
Potential Legal Action
The WIAA Executive Board’s decision is intended to be the final say. However, the player could choose to appeal the ruling to the Superior Court under WIAA Handbook Rule 19.12.4, which states: “Any student who remains aggrieved by a decision of the WIAA Executive Director and/or WIAA Executive Board may appeal to the Superior Court pursuant to RCW 28A.645.010 through RCW 28A.645.030, as now or hereafter amended.”
Based on Archbishop Murphy’s statement, it appears they will continue to appeal.
RCW 28A.645.010 states, in part, that any person or persons aggrieved by such decisions has 30 days to “appeal the same to the superior court of the county in which the school district or part thereof is situated, by filing with the secretary of the school board if the appeal is from board action or failure to act.”
Under RCW 28A.645.020, the school board or school official will have 20 days to file “the complete transcript of the evidence and the papers and exhibits relating to the decision for which a complaint has been filed,” on its own expense. RCW 28A.645.030 states “any appeal to the superior court shall be heard de novo by the superior court. Such appeal shall be heard expeditiously.” De novo means the appeal will be heard from the beginning, with the previous decision holding no bearing.
In the meantime, the Wildcats will continue their quest to defend last year’s Class 2A state title.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
Source: www.heraldnet.com
