West Virginia Supreme Court intervenes in WVSSAC playoff case

PARKERSBURG – The West Virginia Supreme Court decided Friday to intervene in the fight against the state Secondary School Activity Commission’s football and volleyball ranking system and playoff selection process.

The court, after one judge recused himself, set a deadline of Monday afternoon for litigants in Wood and Mason counties to respond to the petition for an injunction filed Thursday by the SSAC, the governing body for high school athletics headquartered just outside the city. Parkersburg.

Once the deadline has passed, “the appeal will be ripe for consideration” and counsel for the parties will be “notified in writing of any decision in the matter,” according to the scheduling orders released Friday.

Legal challenges have caused the high school football playoffs in all four classifications and the Class A volleyball tournament to be suspended.

WVSSAC director David Price confirmed Tuesday that the football postseason would be postponed until the pending lawsuits were resolved.

However, there are two Class AAA “play-in” games involving Capital-Hampshire and Point Pleasant-St. Albans was scheduled for Saturday. Those games were canceled just before Friday’s schedule.

It all stems from the state going from three classes to four classes this offseason. Several schools were unhappy with their new classification and cited a number of issues with the competitive balance formula, leading to a series of calls at the start of the season.

In August, the State Board of Review ruled that 11 schools could be moved down one class for football for the 2024 season only. Three days later, eleven more were moved down.

In the weeks that followed, several schools requested that the football rating system, which takes into account the strength of the schedule, reflect the classification of opponents for the time their games were scheduled, and not the new classes in which they were drawn with the changes in August. No changes have been made to the formula.

Wood County Schools has challenged in court the final rankings of Parkersburg, Parkersburg South and Williamstown high schools, leading to an emergency order from Wood County Circuit Judge J.D. Beane ordering that schools be ranked for the playoffs based on their classification prior to the August changes. A second order from Mason County Judge Anita Ashley mandated the play-in games for teams that would have been left out by that change.

Judge William R. Wooton filed a memo Friday recusing himself from the case, though court documents did not specify why.

Chief Justice Tim Armstead filed a notice of disclosure Thursday stating that he knew and worked professionally with Herbert Hoover High School Principal Michael Kelley as a lawmaker and judge. The message states that Kelley is or was a member of the SSAC board. He is not listed among the board members on the committee’s website.

It also notes that Armstead has a cousin who plays football for Braxton County High School, although that team is not in the playoffs under either system.

Armstead said he does not believe there is any reason for him to disqualify himself from the case, but asked if there were any objections to his participation so it would be filed Friday at noon. No charges appear to have been filed.

Gov. Jim Justice addressed the topic Friday during his online media briefing. When asked about the situation, he acknowledged that he was not directly involved but that he is monitoring it.

“I think I can get in if I have to,” he said.

“The SSAC needs to get its act together in this area,” Justice said, before noting that they don’t have much choice when it comes to court orders.

Justice said his biggest concern is the delays that cause football and volleyball to overlap with winter sports such as basketball. That could lead to student athletes trying to participate in both and getting injured.

“Next thing you know, kids are getting hurt,” he said. “If we’re not careful, it’s going to be a complete dog mess.”

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