Butler suing PIAA over football playoff ruling
BUTLER TWP — An appeal was denied. A proposed compromise was refused.
So the Butler Area School District resorted to litigation Tuesday, filing suit against the PIAA in the Court of Common Pleas of Butler County over the organization’s refusal to grant the Golden Tornado football program playoff eligibility in District 10.
“The last thing you want to do is go through the courts on anything,” Butler schools Superintendent Brian White said. “We’re suing my colleagues. We didn’t want to do that. But we’re very serious about this issue.”
Butler High School football completed its second season in District 10 last fall, qualifying for and competing in the District 10 playoffs. In January of this year, Butler athletic director Bill Mylan received a letter from the WPIAL stating the Golden Tornado would not be eligible to compete in the District 10 playoffs in 2022.
Butler appealed that decision to the PIAA. After that was denied, Mylan offered a compromise to the WPIAL, saying that Butler football would return to the WPIAL in the 2024-25 school year if it would be made eligible for District 10 postseason play during the next two seasons. That offer was turned down.
“Dr. White made it clear that we would pursue litigation if that compromise was refused,” Butler school district solicitor Tom Breth said. “They (WPIAL) should not be blindsided by this.”
Mylan said: “This entire process is all about us doing what’s best for our student-athletes. What’s disappointing to us is being permitted to compete in the (District 10) playoffs, then suddenly being told we’re not eligible to do so.
“Had this been the WPIAL’s stance from the start, we would have pursued a whole different direction with our football program.”
Breth pointed out that the WPIAL, which is District 7, permits a number of athletic teams from other districts to compete in its district as associate members in different sports. All of those teams are eligible for WPIAL postseason play.
“To say our football team can’t do that same thing in another district is hypocritical and discriminatory,” Breth said.
“They (PIAA and WPIAL) are violating their own constitutional by-laws here. Those by-laws state that the only way a team cannot participate in postseason is if it doesn’t qualify on the field of play or there’s a disciplinary matter. Those do not apply here. We’ve done nothing wrong, nothing to warrant playoff ineligibility through any bylaw.
“Basically, they are punishing Butler football without reason. They’ve never given any reason for this,” Breth added.
The solicitor said the WPIAL “has tried to make this a competitive issue rather than a safety issue.”
White cited a game against Central Catholic three years ago in which Butler’s varsity roster had 23 players and a number of injured players. Officials before the game agreed the contest be played with a running clock.
Central Catholic played underclassmen and still won the game by more than 50 points.
“Our football situation had deteriorated to a point that it just wasn’t safe to put those kids on the field,” Breth said. “Anyone who didn’t see that situation as a safety issue was turning a blind eye toward it.”
“Student safety is why we decided to move our football program to District 10 in the first place,” White said.
Breth expects this case to qualify for discovery within a couple of months. Should Butler qualify for the District 10 football playoffs on the field this fall, “we will seek an injunction allowing them to play,” he said.
“Our (roster) numbers have picked up considerably and our football program is making progress. Are we ready to return to WPIAL 6A and be competitive? We’re not there yet. We still have a long way to go. It’s important that our progress is allowed to continue.”
