A high school football team in California has suspended its entire season and launched an investigation after revealing five players were ineligible to play.
Bishop Montgomery High School, in Torrance, Southwest Los Angeles County, made the announcement after self-reporting violations of bylaws relating to their varsity program and the transfer of the players.
Newsweek has reached out to Bishop Montgomery High School via an online contact form and to the CIF-SS via email outside of regular working hours for comment.
Why It Matters
The youth sports industry generates around $40 billion in revenue each year, as per the Aspen Institute. The New York Times recently reported that around 60 million children are playing sports, and the average U.S. sports family is spending over $1,000 on their child’s primary sport.
What To Know
A letter released on Tuesday, signed by the Bishop Montgomery principal Michele Starkey and school president Patrick Lee and shared on social media, read in part: “Our school was recently informed by the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section (CIF-SS), that five of our transfer students were deemed ineligible to play in our varsity football program.”
Here’s the official announcement by Bishop Montgomery ending its varsity season but committing to returning in 2026. pic.twitter.com/le4pqUfefS
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) September 3, 2025
It continued, noting that the school administration had self-reported to the CIF-SS over “additional violations of CIF-SS bylaws related to transfer students.”
Following the self-report, the entire varsity football program has been suspended and all games forfeited for the remainder of the 2025 season. “We are instituting corrective actions aimed at ensuring compliance and preventing such issues in the future,” the letter read.
The head coach, Ed Hodgkiss, is no longer employed at the school, the letter stated, assistant coach Mike Hall taking over in the interim.
An investigation into why five transfer students were declared ineligible is ongoing, according to the school’s announcement. The outlet reported that they had been declared ineligible for violating a bylaw involving the submission of false information.
What People Are Saying
The letter from the principal and president reads in part: “We apologize for the impact these actions have had on students and families, our community, the Camino Del Rey League, the CIF-SS and its member schools, and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Bishop Montgomery is committed to working actively with the CIF-SS and the Catholic Athletic Association to restore trust in our school and our program.”
One social media user wrote on social media, in response to a post about the letter: “Hate to see the adults fail the kids. Awful.”
Another social media user wrote in response to a post about the letter: “Ruined the season for the +/- 50 other kids on the team. What a shame…”
What’s Next
The letter detailed that the high school will be working to “remedy any issues,” so that the football program will be able to resume for the 2026 season.
The post High School Football Team Forfeits Entire Season Amid Transfer Drama appeared first on Newsweek.
