SALINE, Mich. – Saline Area Schools announced Tuesday its high school is forfeiting the first three varsity football games in the 2024 season due to infractions with the MHSAA guidelines.
In a letter sent to the varsity football families on Oct. 1, Superintendent Stephen D. Laatsch said that due to the failure to establish residency under MHSAA guidelines, the Saline High School football team is forfeiting the first three games of the season.
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“Residency fraud are serious infractions,” said Laatsch in the letter.
Laatsch said it’s the school district’s athletic department’s responsibility to enforce MHSAA regulations, and no one is at fault in the situation.
“These forfeitures, while extremely unfortunate, do not diminish the hard work and accomplishments of the student-athletes or coaches,” said Athletic Director Ashley Mantha. “As a first-year varsity coach and teacher at Saline Area Schools, Coach Short has continuously demonstrated that he leads with both empathy and integrity. It is important to clarify that Coach Short had no involvement in the circumstances that led to these infractions. We fully support Coach as he continues to positively impact our student-athletes both on and off the field. In spite of setbacks, we are proud of the students who have demonstrated resilience and integrity throughout the season and look forward to their continued success.”
According to Laatsch’s letter, the school district is working to prevent similar situations like this in the future.
See the full message from Saline Area School’s Superintendent below:
Dear Varsity Football Families:
We have a great deal to be proud of at Saline Area Schools, with consistently top-ranked academic and athletic programs and facilities. Saline is currently ranked as the top High School for athletes in Michigan by Niche.com. Saline Area Schools also holds honesty and integrity in the highest regard, and celebrates ethical and responsible citizens as an important component of student learning. When residency concerns that potentially impacted athletic eligibility were brought to the attention of Athletic Director Mantha and me, we investigated, and in the interest of honesty and integrity, self-reported those concerns to the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA).
Failure to establish residency pursuant to MHSAA guidelines and residency fraud are serious infractions. As a result of these infractions, our Saline HS Varsity Football team will unfortunately be forfeiting the first three games of the 2024 varsity football season. The Athletic Department is responsible for enforcing MHSAA regulations. Athletic Director Mantha said, “These forfeitures, while extremely unfortunate, do not diminish the hard work and accomplishments of the student-athletes or coaches. As a first-year varsity coach and teacher at Saline Area Schools, Coach Short has continuously demonstrated that he leads with both empathy and integrity. It is important to clarify that Coach Short had no involvement in the circumstances that led to these infractions. We fully support Coach as he continues to positively impact our student-athletes both on and off the field. In spite of setbacks, we are proud of the students who have demonstrated resilience and integrity throughout the season and look forward to their continued success.”
In light of these reports, Saline Area Schools' Central Office and Athletic Department have held extensive discussions to revise our internal processes to prevent similar situations in the future. Greater safeguards with our Enrollment Office, Athletic Department, and compliance officer will help ensure this never happens again.
Mark Uyl, Executive Director of the MHSAA, said, “Saline has been a model MHSAA member school for many years. We appreciate and respect how this matter was handled, and Saline is handling this unfortunate situation by the rules and with the highest level of integrity.”
This unfortunate situation is not the fault of any individual student, the team, or the coaching staff. I apologize to our student-athletes and coaching staff who must bear the burden of these infractions and subsequent forfeitures. We want all our student-athletes to continue to have great success in the classroom and in their athletic pursuits.
Sincerely,
Stephen D. Laatsch, PhD
Superintendent
Saline Area Schools
