MIAA tournament suspended after association loses in court

More than a dozen schools in western Massachusetts have failed to comply with an MIAA rule requiring them to submit complete schedules, including upcoming regional tournament games, by Sept. 13. Their league, the Pioneer Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference, holds its own tournaments after the regular season and before the state tournament. The schools that were fined did not list the dates of their future regional postseason games as “TBA” or “to be announced” on their schedules.

Of all the schools that failed to comply, only Minnechaug, joined by individual families from Monson High School, sued the MIAA, claiming the organization unfairly punished them by recording their regional tournament games as penalties.

Monson does not play field hockey or girls volleyball, but MIAA penalties have affected his boys and girls soccer teams. Football tournament schedules are due to be released on Friday, with those tournaments scheduled to begin on Sunday.

Hampden Superior Court Judge Tracy Duncan said in a handwritten order Wednesday after hearing MIAA’s objections during an emergency hearing Tuesday: “The TRO will stand.”

She ordered the MIAA to waive forfeit penalties and prohibited the MIAA from recording the results of any games in which the Minnechaug and Monson teams played “in any way other than the actual score.”

The judge also stated that the MIAA “shall maintain and publish standings and determine eligibility for MIAA state tournaments based on correct and accurate results of play, unaffected by any penalties by the MIAA for off-schedule submission.”

As a result, the Minnechaug field hockey team finished with a 7-8-3 record and a 19th-place finish in the 35-team state tournament. Minnechaug, located in Wilbraham, will open the state tournament against 14th-ranked Westboro (6-9-2).

The Minnechaug girls volleyball team posted a final record of 13-7 and was ranked 26th in the 40-team tournament. His first opponent will be No. 39 ranked Putnam Vocational Academy (16-3) from Springfield.

Other schools in western Massachusetts that were fined for missing schedule submission deadlines and chose not to challenge the penalties in court have accepted penalties.

The Minnechaug and Monson families argued before the judge that MIAA’s punishment was “arbitrary and capricious,” a standard the state Supreme Judicial Court has set for lower courts to decide MIAA cases. For example, they said, the MIAA made exceptions for football teams that missed the entry deadline but rejected attempts by Minnechaug and Monson to correct the record.

The MIAA argued that the Pioneer Valley Conference agreed that its playoff games involving schools that failed to properly submit schedules would be forfeited.

“The schools were well aware of the consequences of participating in unreported PVIAC Tournament games but decided to play anyway,” the MIAA said.

The organization is expected to address this issue to avoid a similar situation in the coming seasons.

Bob Hohler can be reached at [email protected].