90-Day Ineligibility Rule Affects High Schoolers
Photo by Kinzee Derr
Junior Xavier Marburger goes for a layup at Kenesaw on Jan.8.Moving to a different school can definitely be an adjustment when it comes to sports. For example, if a student who transfers during the school year wants to play a sport, they would have to play for 90 days on the junior varsity team before they can play on the varsity team.
This is a rule that was made in Nebraska in order to prevent students from jumping from team to team. After the 90 days are up, a student is then considered eligible to play on the varsity team.
A team that recently was featured in the news concerning this rule is Gretna High School. Back in November, they won the state football championship against Omaha Westside.
But due to a recent discovery, they have to forfeit their trophy. This is because a student who was on the team was later determined to be ineligible. The student is a junior at Gretna and lives with his dad in the district. But according to the superintendent, the school did not have the proper paperwork on file.
Junior Noah Roberts is a student who recently transferred back to Harvard. Roberts had been at Harvard before but transferred to Central City at the start of this year and then back to Harvard at the start of second semester.
“I moved back to Harvard because I missed my friends and playing basketball,” said Roberts, who thinks the 90 day rule is a good idea. He feels as though students should be able to represent their school.
Roberts chose to continue playing basketball on the junior varsity instead of quitting because basketball is his passion.
“It feels like nothing has changed since I left Harvard,” said Roberts. Since he came at the beginning of second semester, Roberts cannot play varsity basketball until his senior year.
“I can’t wait to play varsity next year because it will be very fun and a great experience,” said Roberts.
Assistant coach Josh Quinn feels that the 90 day rule is necessary to have in high school sports.
“This is a way to stop student-athletes from jumping from school to school strictly for athletic benefits,” said Quinn, who first learned about this rule when he was in high school.
Quinn has been coaching the junior varsity team this season and has been working with Head Coach Cody Cahill.