OSSAA news: Playoff hosting penalty approved for schools not attending eligibility workshops

The OSSAA and its Board of Directors sent a message about just how strongly they feel about schools being active in understanding and following the organization’s eligibility rules.

According to executive director Ed Sheakley, 107 of the 479 member schools have not attended one of the OSSAA’s mandatory eligibility workshops and could face a penalty that includes being prohibited from hosting playoff events at their school.

The OSSAA held five workshops over the summer at various locations around the state, including one at the Oklahoma Coaches Association clinic last month in Tulsa.

A makeup workshop is scheduled for noon Saturday at the lecture hall in Heritage Hall Upper School, located at 1800 NW 122nd St.

If any of the 107 schools do not have an administrator at Saturday’s workshop, those schools will be placed on warning for one year, and not allowed to host playoff contests in the 2012-13 school year.

Sheakley told the Board he knew the penalty might seem stiff to some, but the Board showed its belief that ongoing eligibility issues centering around a lack of understanding the rules need to be curbed.

The workshops are designed to inform and instruct school administrators on how to handle new students regarding athletic eligibility, including the paperwork other information needed by the OSSAA to approve eligibility of a student-athlete.

Bricktown Ballpark to host fall baseball championships again

The fall baseball state championship games will return to the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in October, after the OSSAA Board of Directors approved a motion to keep the games in the facility on Wednesday.