The Ohio High School Athletic Association will announce on Tuesday its plan to sanction Archbishop Hoban High School and Knights football coach Tim Tyrrell.
The penalties include a postseason coaching suspension for Tyrrell if Hoban qualifies for the 2016 playoffs, Hoban being placed on probation for the remainder of the 2016-2017 school year and all of the 2017-2018 school year, and Tyrrell being limited to a total of five days of contact with the Knights football team during the summer of 2017.
Football coaches typically are permitted 10 days of contact with their players during the summer.
The penalties stem from a violation of OHSAA Bylaw 4-9-2 – Recruiting.
In a statement to be released Tuesday, the OHSAA finds that Tyrrell, who led the Knights to the Division II state title a year ago, “initiated contact in the fall of 2015 with a student at St. Hilary Elementary School.”
The release makes clear the investigation into Tyrrell and the school is ongoing and additional penalties may be levied.
“As a veteran coach and the current athletic administrator at Archbishop Hoban, we believe that Tim Tyrrell was aware his actions were in violation of the OHSAA’s recruiting bylaw,” OHSAA interim commissioner Dave Gray said in the statement.
“Rather than wait until the investigation concluded, which could be toward the end of the season, we felt compelled to announce these penalties now so the team and school have time to make the appropriate accommodations. We appreciate the cooperation of Hoban administrators and hope to conclude this investigation soon.”
Tyrrell said Hoban will appeal the OHSAA’s decision, and declined to comment further on the situation when contacted Monday by telephone.
The OHSAA said it will announce the end of the investigation and any additional findings and penalties at a later date.
Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the #ABJVarsity high school blog at www.ohio.com/preps. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBeavenABJ.