May 15, 2003
A series of penalties involving Chicago (Hales Franciscan) High School and its head boys basketball coach for violation of several Illinois High School Association (IHSA) by-laws were announced today (May 15) by IHSA Executive Director Dr. Martin L. Hickman. The school has been informed of the findings and penalties.
The IHSA initiated an investigation of the boys basketball program at Hales Franciscan after reviewing a series of quotes made by Coach Gary London during and following the IHSA Class A Boys Basketball State Finals in Peoria.
Penalties
Hales Franciscan head boys basketball coach Gary London has been suspended from coaching at any IHSA member school until Dec. 14, 2003, for his involvement in organizing the Hales Franciscan basketball team outside the IHSA season limitations (By-laws 2.090 and 5.040) and for violation of IHSA recruiting rules (By-laws 3.071 and 3.073).
Hales Franciscan High School has been placed on probation for the 2003-04 school term. The school was held responsible not only for the violations committed by Coach London, but also for employing two basketball coaches who did not meet IHSA requirements regarding coaching qualifications. (By-law 2.070).
In addition to being placed on probation, Hales Franciscan High School will be prohibited from sponsoring summer programs related to boys basketball during the summer of 2003, nor will any of its basketball coaches be allowed to utilize the 25 contact days outlined in By-law 3.153.
Hales Franciscan High School is also required to submit a plan of action detailing the steps it will take to ensure future violations of the IHSA by-laws do not occur. The school has until June 15, 2003, to submit its plan to the IHSA Executive Director.
Findings
Facts pertinent to the Executive Director's ruling include, but are not limited to, the following:
Coach Gary London organized players from Hales Franciscan to participate in the Back to School Basketball Tournament at Loyola University and the Columbus Park Fall Basketball League. The school further demonstrated its involvement in organizing the team for these events by paying the associated entry fees. Furthermore, according to school officials and players from Hales Franciscan, Coach London and other coaches transported players to the fall games in their personal vehicles or in school vans.
Although the comments made by Coach London during the IHSA Class A Boys Basketball State Finals regarding the decisions of Nate Minnoy and Jerome Randle to attend Hales Franciscan seemed self-incriminating, the facts discovered during the course of the investigation did not clearly substantiate that a violation of the IHSA's recruiting rule occurred with regard to these two students. However, some remarks by Coach London were deemed to be in violation of IHSA By-laws 3.071 and 3.073. Specifically, in an interview with a radio station from Rochelle, given at the state tournament in Peoria, Coach London stated: "…I talked with some of the kids that we're recruiting tonight. I told them to make sure you are watching. This is the kind of program we want you to come into. The quality program. They see how hard our kids play…"
During the course of the investigation it also became evident that boys basketball coaches Kevin Bush and Marlo Finner did not meet the IHSA's requirements regarding coaching qualifications as outlined in IHSA By-law 2.070.
Text of By-laws That Apply
By-law 2.070, which is too long to be quoted here in its entirety, contains a list of methods by which a person may qualify to be a coach at an IHSA member school. As a minimum requirement, coaches who are not certified teachers must have "satisfactorily completed a coach training program approved by the IHSA Board of Directors."
By-law 2.090:
"No school belonging to this Association
shall organize its teams, practice, scrimmage or
participate in any interscholastic sport outside
of the season limitations as prescribed in Section
5.000 of these By-Laws; nor shall any person who
coaches any sport at a member school, coach or
supervise a non-school team in any interscholastic
sport composed of students from that school,
except within the guidelines promulgated by the
IHSA Board of Directors."
By-law 3.071:
"Recruitment of students or attempted
recruitment of students for athletic purposes is
prohibited, regardless of their residence."
By-law 3.073:
"It shall also be a violation of this rule to
induce or attempt to induce or encourage any
prospective student to attend a member school for
the purpose of participating in athletics, even
when special remuneration or inducement is not
given."
By-law 5.040 includes subsection 5.041(a):
No school belonging to this Association shall
organize its Boys Basketball teams, practice or
participate in interscholastic contests earlier
than Monday of Week 19 or later than Saturday of
Week 37 in the IHSA Standardized Calendar.
By-law 6.010 (Penalty for Violating Rules):
"Any violation of the Constitution and/or
By-laws, Terms and Conditions, IHSA Policies and
Guidelines, and/or other rules of the Association
shall be reported to the Executive Director, who
shall have authority to investigate all alleged
violations. The findings of the investigation
shall be made known to the school (or schools),
person (or person), alleged to have committed a
violation. TheExecutive Director shall then have
full authority to invoke penalties against such
school or persons found to have committed
violations. Penalties shall include, but not be
limited to, written warning or reprimand,
requisite affirmative corrective action, up to and
including suspension and/or expulsion. Failure to
take the corrective action required by any penalty
shall be the basis for further action, up to and
including suspension and/or expulsion."
Comments from Executive Director Dr. Martin L. Hickman:
"The violations uncovered during the course of this investigation are serious breaches of our rules. While some of the violations may have occurred due to a lack of understanding of the Association's by-laws, they are nonetheless violations.
"I want to commend the administration and staff of Hales Franciscan for their complete cooperation with the IHSA staff during the course of this investigation. Based on our discussions, I am confident the school intends to operate its interscholastic program within the framework of the Association's rules."