MPS error; 2 high schools must forfeit football games due to WIAA sanctions
MILWAUKEE - A paperwork problem is again affecting students at Milwaukee Public Schools.
This time, it could cost football players at two high schools their respective seasons.
Though this isn't a disciplinary issue or academic issue. The district's head of athletics didn't submit the proper paperwork for Bay View and Pulaski high schools to change conferences, effectively ending seasons or high school careers for players on both teams.
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In the shadows of Bay View High School, the Redcats still practiced Tuesday night for a Thursday game that won't even count.
How did this happen?
The issue stems from a failure to submit the proper paperwork for a conference change.
The Milwaukee City Conference has long operated with a promotion-relegation system, according to a district official, that is comparable to English football. The winner of the Blackbourn division is moved into the Richardson Division the following season, while the last-place finisher in the Richardson Division slides to the Blackbourn Division.
Bay View and Pulaski swapped spots ahead of the 2024 season.
However, the district said its Office of the Commissioner of Interscholastic Athletics and Academics, which runs the City Conference, did not file the proper paperwork.
Students and parents respond
Bobbie Kelsey — who played college basketball at Stanford before coaching for more than two decades, including at the University of Wisconsin-Madison — has held the post since 2019.
Sophomore linebacker Elijah Luckett described the moment he and his teammates learned their season was done, just days before they could earn a spot in the playoffs.
"I guess I love it cause it's fun. It gets your blood pumping, your adrenaline running," Luckett said. "I have no clue what happened, but it's gotta be something wrong. I just couldn't believe it. I almost cried. It was really bad."
MPS confirmed both Bay View and Pulaski's football teams must forfeit every game this year and next year, in addition to postseason bans.
In a statement, the district said its Office of Interscholastic Athletics & Academics did not file the necessary paperwork for the schools to move divisions within the city conference.
"I'm more concerned about his education above anything, but as a requirement to play sports, you have to have good grades. Him playing sports is pushing him to get better grades," said Luckett’s father, James Prince. "As a requirement to play sports, you have to have good grades. Him playing sports is pushing him to get better grades. He told me often, 'Dad, I wanna go D1. I wanna go D1.' You can't do that if you can't play."
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Now, parents and players are trying to focus on a season they hope is saved all because of a problem no player or coach could have created.
"It's a clerical thing," Prince said. "You know, why not take up that issue with the people who messed up?"
The district is appealing the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association's (WIAA) punishment.
With a Thursday win over Vincent, Bay View would have clinched the playoffs. The team said, as far as it knows, the game is still on.