Residency concerns cause Saline Area Schools to lose the first three games of the 2024 varsity football season.

On October 1, a statement was released to university football families explaining the situation. The SHS Varsity Football team started the season 5-0 and most recently won 48-0 against Ann Arbor Huron.

In the message, SAS Superintendent Steve Laatsch said, “Failure to establish residency in accordance with MHSAA guidelines and residency fraud are serious violations.” Due to these violations, our Saline HS Varsity Football team will unfortunately be unable to play its first three varsity games. Lose the 2024 football season.”

Here is the full message:

Dear university football families:

We have much to be proud of at Saline Area Schools, with consistently top-notch academic and athletic programs and facilities. Saline is currently ranked as the top high school for athletes in Michigan by Niche.com. Saline Area Schools also values ​​honesty and integrity and recognizes ethical and responsible citizens as an important part of student learning. When Athletic Director Mantha and I were made aware of residency concerns that may have impacted athletic eligibility, we investigated and, in the interest of honesty and integrity, self-reported these concerns to the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA).

Failure to establish residency in accordance with MHSAA guidelines and residency fraud are serious violations. Due to these violations, our Saline HS Varsity Football team will unfortunately forfeit the first three games of the 2024 varsity football season. The athletic department is responsible for enforcing MHSAA regulations. Athletic Director Mantha said, “While these losses are extremely unfortunate, they do not diminish the hard work and accomplishments of the student-athletes or coaches. As a first-year varsity coach and teacher at Saline Area Schools, Coach Short has continually demonstrated that he leads with both empathy and integrity. It is important to clarify that Coach Short had no involvement in the circumstances that led to these violations. We fully support Coach as he continues to have a positive impact on our student-athletes on and off the field. Despite setbacks, we are proud of the students who demonstrated resilience and integrity throughout the season and look forward to their continued success.”

In light of these reports, the Saline Area Schools Central Office and Athletic Department have engaged in extensive discussions to revise our internal processes to prevent similar situations in the future. Greater security at our registration office, athletic department and compliance officer will help ensure this never happens again.

MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said, “Saline has been an exemplary MHSAA member school for many years. We appreciate and respect the manner in which this matter was handled and Saline is handling this unfortunate situation appropriately and with the utmost integrity.”

This unfortunate situation is not the fault of any individual student, team or coaching staff. I apologize to our student-athletes and coaching staff who must bear the burden of these violations and the resulting losses. We want all of our student-athletes to continue to have great success in the classroom and in their athletic activities.

Sincerely,

Stephen D. Laatsch, PhD

superintendent
Schools in the salt area