Football NSAA vacates Gretna's Class A football state title
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NSAA rules Gretna must vacate 2021 Class A football title
Gretna’s Class A football championship has been vacated by the NSAA board after the school was determined to have used an ineligible player.
The NSAA Board of Directors voted 8-0 to strip the title from the Dragons. Gretna will have to return its state championship trophy, but players will be allowed to keep the medals they received from their 7-3 win over Omaha Westside in last November's Class A championship game.
The Board upheld Executive Director Jay Bellar's ruling that Tyson Boganowski, a junior who had played previously for Papillion-LaVista South, had not made a bona fide change in domicile under NSAA rules. The appeal hearing was conducted in closed session at the request of the school. Testimony was heard for 2 1/2 hours, then the board deliberated for another two hours.
The World-Herald independently checked public records that show Bryan Boganowski owns a home in the Titan Springs addition of Papillion but used the address of an apartment in Gretna when he registered as a lobbyist with the Nebraska Legislature. That filing was dated Jan. 7.
Tyson Boganowski was at Papillion-La Vista South as a freshman and sophomore. This past season, he appeared in all 13 Gretna games. He caught 22 passes for 188 yards and one touchdown. Against Westside he had season bests of six catches for 47 yards.
This is the first time since 1919 that a state championship in Nebraska has been vacated. In basketball that year, Holbrook was stripped of its Class F title for use of an ineligible player. Deshler, which lost to the Hornets in the final, was awarded the championship trophy.
Omaha Flanagan relinquished its 1989 Class C boys track and field title because it used an ineligible athlete. The meet was re-scored and Battle Creek became champion.
You have to wonder if he didn't hit the May 1 deadline. Or if they tried to rent an apartment in Gretna and live at their previous address.
Sounds like this is what may have happened.....rented an apartment but never actually lived there. School probably didn't even know.
I listened to Mike Sautter on 1620 AM and he kind of inferred that this is what happened, the family rented an apartment but never lived there.
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More from the OWH story:
Rich Beran, Gretna's superintendent of schools, told the World Herald the district was "very disappointed" by the NSAA ruling. He implied that Boganowski and his wife were separated.
"It's on a technicality, that we didn't have a separation that was on a legal document, in their mind," Beran said. "They live in our district, the boy and his dad, but because we don't have an official document that's what they're nailing us on."
Why? Did he move out of the district in the last year, then come back? Max preps says he played there last year as well.
Not sure what he'd be "investigated" for...
NSAA rules Gretna must vacate 2021 Class A football title
Gretna’s Class A football championship has been vacated by the NSAA board after the school was determined to have used an ineligible player.
NSAA Executive Director Jay Bellar said the NSAA received a complaint in early December from a member school. The NSAA staff investigated, and in late December Bellar notified Gretna that he found the player to be ineligible. Gretna then appealed that ruling to the NSAA Board.
Bellar said because it was a closed hearing, he couldn't share many details about the findings or the board's deliberations.
Rich Beran, Gretna's superintendent of schools, told The World-Herald that the district was "very disappointed" by the ruling.
Beran said Tyson Boganowski enrolled at Gretna on April 12, before the May 1 deadline for schools to notify the NSAA of option-enrollment students entering their districts in the next fall semester. Because Gretna Public Schools don't accept open enrollment or other transfers, the superintendent said it has never filed a May 1 list.
"He registers for classes, we get the transcripts from Papillion. So they know he's over here. We're not trying to hide it," Beran said. "He goes to class all spring, talks to the coach, talks about football."
Because Boganowski was not on the May 1 list, he needed to have a change of address to transfer and be eligible without sitting out 90 school days. The school also thought he was from a single-parent family because only his father was there to enroll him. But the Boganowskis are separated.
"It's on a technicality, that we didn't have a separation that was on a legal document, in their mind," Beran said. "They live in our district, the boy and his dad, but because we don't have an official document, that's what they're nailing us on."
He said the school asked for a closed hearing to protect the family's privacy. But as is protocol for hearings, the NSAA identified the player before asking the school to reaffirm its preference for an open or closed hearing. The player's last name was also clearly written on an attorney's binder.
You can transfer anywhere you want and play without sitting out, as long as you submit paperwork to the NSAA by May 1. Otherwise, if you don't move, you must sit out 90 days before you play varsity competition.
I mean Derrick Russell left Omaha Central to play at Lincoln North Star back in the day with Tyler Bullock. He never moved to Lincoln but filed the proper paperwork to be eligible.
Vondrae Tostenson left Omaha Creighton Prep after leading them to state basketball for Millard South. He put in his paperwork on the March deadline and watched his Prep team from the stands and played for Millard South the next season.
Noah Fant left Burke for Omaha South. Didn't move or anything. Put in his paperwork by March and was eligible right away for South.
There is a pretty easy process to be able to play as long as you put the paperwork in.
Yeah, the process is pretty simple. And the sit out period is 90 school days, not just 90 general days (for clarification)
If the family was truly separated and dad lived in apartment in Gretna with son, then that really, really sucks for Gretna.
If the apartment was empty and they weren't living in the apartment, then they should lose the trophy unfortunately.
If the apartment was empty and they weren't living in the apartment, then they should lose the trophy unfortunately.
Yes the May 1st Transfer list would have solved the issue of the student's eligibility...but how do you justify adding an athlete to a transfer list if you are a district that's closed to option students transferring in? I don't know how many are beating down their door to transfer in (I presume many would like to), so would utilizing the list open up a can of worms in that regard?
My big questions are: Did Gretna truly think it was a change of domicile? If they knew it wasn't, or even questioned it a little, did the fact that they are a closed district stop them from going the May 1st route to potentially avoid this?
My big questions are: Did Gretna truly think it was a change of domicile? If they knew it wasn't, or even questioned it a little, did the fact that they are a closed district stop them from going the May 1st route to potentially avoid this?
This is what makes this interesting. Gretna is closed (like Elkhorn), a student can't just enroll at Gretna and live in Yutan or Valley. They can try, but Gretna doesn't have to take them.
Just a very odd situation, especially if the kid was truly living in the apt in Gretna.
They must have. As noted above, Gretna has closed enrollment, so they don't ever submit a May 1 transfer list to the NSAA.
Didn’t the Gretna superintendent state he enrolled there on April 12? I don’t understand the issue. It was prior to May 1
Anytime a high school student transfers into your district during the 2nd semester, you should fill out the transfer form.
The student's legal domicile was still the residence in Papillion. The father/athlete/Gretna school district treated this as if it was a move in (which makes sense because the boy and father said they moved). It wasn't a move in. It was a transfer, I assume because the legal domicile in Papillion was still being used by the family (even though mom/dad were split). Move ins can come and go as they please and always be immediately eligible assuming there was a legal domicile change. Transfers have to be on the May 1st transfer list. Even though this kid was in school in Gretna on April 12th, he was never put on the list. That was the error.
The importance of an established "legal domicile" is what is being lost here. Families can have as many houses/residences as they want, but only 1 is considered the legal domicile. In this case it was the Papillion home. I am hesitant to speak on the mother/father relationship because I don't know the facts. It sounds like they separated, but weren't officially divorced? I apologize if I have that incorrect. If that is the case, it would make sense that the legal domicile wouldn't change. Separations are more temporary in nature than divorce.
