Court orders Glenville back into football playoffs

A Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judge has ordered Glenville High School to be reinstated in the high school football playoffs. The ruling, issued Tuesday afternoon, directs the Ohio High School Athletic Association to identify Glenville's opponent for the Division III tournament.

Judge Andrew Santoli stated that the OHSAA acted arbitrarily when it removed the Tarblooders from competition. The court determined that the association removed the team before completing its investigation into the eligibility of ten players. Santoli outlined several ways to remedy the situation. These options include rescheduling the first-round game between Glenville and University School, declaring University School forfeited, or sending Glenville directly to the second round against Salem.

The OHSAA issued a statement a few hours after the decision. The association said it intends to appeal portions of the ruling. However, it agreed with the court's conclusion that the judge was not deciding which team was entitled to play. The statement noted that it is beyond the court's authority to order one team into the playoffs over another. More information regarding the second-round game against Salem is expected to be released Wednesday.

In its statement, the OHSAA provided additional details about its investigation. The association reported that 63 of the 64 student-athletes on the Glenville roster do not attend Glenville. It cited conflicting residency documentation submitted by Glenville and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. The OHSAA claimed that the district has not successfully proven that those student-athletes should have been participating at Glenville.

The dispute stems from an ongoing investigation into players from Ginn Academy. Students at Ginn Academy are permitted to participate in sports at the nearest Cleveland Metropolitan School District high school. The OHSAA alleged that the district inaccurately allowed Ginn Academy students to play at Glenville when their residency required them to play for another school.

During a two-day hearing in Santoli's courtroom, the OHSAA argued that the school district lacked reliable documentation for several players. The association contended that the district did not have a reliable process for assigning Ginn Academy students to athletic programs. OHSAA said these issues violated its bylaws and removed Glenville from the playoffs before the first-round game scheduled for Oct. 30.

Santoli found that no bylaw explicitly set a deadline for submitting paperwork or verifying residency. He also found it problematic that the OHSAA removed Glenville while still communicating with the district and before the investigation was concluded. The judge noted that no Glenville player had been declared ineligible at the time of the removal or at the time of the Tuesday ruling.

Last week, the judge issued a temporary restraining order that blocked Glenville's removal. That order required the first-round game to be played as scheduled or rescheduled. The OHSAA rescheduled the game for Oct. 31. University School declined to participate in that rescheduled contest. The school stated in a statement that it respected the court's prudence in deciding the ultimate outcome rather than having the result determined by the play on the field.

Glenville was removed from the football playoffs for a similar issue in 2018. At that time, the school was fined $5,000 and placed on probation through 2021. The Tarblooders won Division IV state football championships in 2022, 2023, and 2025. They moved up to Division III and entered the 2026 playoffs as the No. 5 seed in Region 9.