The Ohio High School Athletic Association made a decision on Tuesday regarding any potential Ursuline High School football transfers that occurred as part of the fallout of two lawsuits filed against the school.

The OHSAA sent a letter to schools, according to a report by 21 WFMJ-TV.

Ohio’s high school sports governing body ruled that any players that transfer from Ursuline to another school will have to sit out the remainder of the 2025 football season. OHSAA Executive Director Doug Ute sited Bylaw 4-7-3 as the reason behind the ruling.

Bylaw 4-7-3 is the OHSAA’s rule for mid-season transfers. The varsity sports portion of the bylaw is below:

“If a transfer, as defined in Bylaw 4-7-2, takes place during the sport season in which the student has participated in a regular season interscholastic contest in a sport, the student shall be ineligible in that sport for the remainder of all regular season contests, as well as the OHSAA tournament, in that sport at the school into which the student has transferred (or at the school where the student is now permitted a participation opportunity). Furthermore, the student shall finish fulfilling his/her transfer consequence, for ONLY that sport in which the mid-season transfer occurred, at the start of the sport season during the next school year, unless an exception can be met to restore eligibility for the next sport season. This consequence requires that the student shall remain ineligible for all preseason contests (scrimmages, preview/jamboree, Foundation games) and all regular season contests until the total number of varsity regular season contests missed (including those missed during the previous season) equals 50 percent of the maximum allowable regular season contests in that sport.”

The “50 percent of maximum allowable regular season contests” means that any football players that transferred from Ursuline would have to be ineligible for five games.

PROVIDING CLARITY

The OHSAA also outlined several rules in regards to any potential questions surrounding player eligibility.

¯ If a student stays enrolled at Ursuline and the Fighting Irish have a football team in 2026, that player must play for Ursuline.

¯ If a student stays enrolled at Ursuline and the school cannot field a team in 2026, that student may transfer to the public school district in which they live.

¯ Any football players who transferred before the end of the 2025 season are ineligible for the rest of the year. They will regain their eligibility once they sit out the required five games or until they are approved under an exemption, whichever comes first.

¯ If a player transfers to their local public school after the 2025 season, they will be subject to sit out the required 50%, but will “likely” qualify for full eligibility for other sports aside from football in 2025.

¯ If a player open-enrolls or transfers outside of the Catholic Dioceses of Youngstown after the 2025 football season, they will be subject to sit out the required 50% of contests and will “likely not qualify” for full athletic eligibility under any exception.

¯ If a player transfers to another Youngstown Dioceses school after the football season, they will be subject to the 50% sit out consequence unless they meet the specific criteria outlined for transfers within the dioceses.