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Bellevue football banned from postseason for four years

FILE – Bellevue's former Head Coach Butch Goncharoff encourages his team to focus during a time out at the class 3A state football title game between Bellevue High School and Eastside Catholic High School at the Tacoma Dome, Friday, December 4, 2015. Goncharoff was fired from his coaching position in 2016 after a report that detailed rule violations in the school’s football program. (Sy Bean / The Seattle Times)
By Jayson Jenks Seattle Times

A committee has voted to ban the Bellevue High School football program from postseason play for four years, ban outside donations and tighten incoming transfer oversight, citing a preponderance of evidence that violations occurred.

Athletic directors from the KingCo Conference had been tasked with reviewing the sanctions that Bellevue had proposed for itself in the wake of a 68-page independent report that found wide-ranging rules violations within the program.

In response to allegations against the Bellevue booster club, KingCo also ruled that the Bellevue football program cannot receive any donations for four years, including money, equipment and products from outside entities. Bellevue can appeal for that sanction to be dropped in the spring of 2018.

The sanctions are the latest chapter of investigations, appeals and denials concerning the most successful prep football program in the state.

“This begins the discussion of the penalty phase of the violations, and there are several steps working through that process,” said Mike Colbrese, executive director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA).

A list of findings:

  • The committee found a “preponderance of evidence” that Bellevue illegally recruited athletes to the school and coordinated payments for athletes. The committee also found a “preponderance of evidence” that Bellevue failed to self-report money provided to a players’ family.
  • The committee found a “preponderance of evidence” that Bellevue boosters paid the tuition of athletes at the Academic Institute.
  • Bellevue confirmed that athletes used false addresses in order to gain eligibility.
  • Bellevue confirmed that that payments were made to coaches without approval from the school district.
  • Accepts Bellevue resolution that it will not renew contracts for two years of coaches who violated the WIAA rule saying that stipends and gifts of more than $500 must be approved by the school board.

A list of the sanctions:

  • The Bellevue High School football program cannot receive any donations for four years, including money, equipment and products from outside entities.
  • Bellevue is not allowed to play any non-league football games and will be limited to Class 3A league games for two seasons.
  • Bellevue is not allowed to play out-of-state opponents for four seasons.
  • The Bellevue athletic department is on probation for four years.
  • KingCo athletic directors recommended ongoing investigations into the matter by the Bellevue School District and the WIAA to determine if league and state titles should be forfeited.
  • KingCo placed stricter guidelines and oversight for incoming transfer student-athletes for two years.

Bellevue school officials have previously told Bellevue head coach Butch Goncharoff that it will seek to terminate him for violations of district policies. And the district has also cut ties with long-time assistant coach Pat Jones.

In its KingCo report, the district acknowledged several violations of rules while disputing other aspects of the independent investigation. In order to remedy the violations, the district had proposed a suspension of the team booster club along with meetings, training programs and policy reviews to ensure rules are followed in the future.

But the KingCo Conference officials saw Bellevue’s problems as requiring more severe sanctions.

Bellevue has a chance to appeal the sanctions to the SeaKing District level and ultimately to the executive board of the WIAA, the organization that oversees high-school athletics in the state.

Team supporters, meanwhile, have been battling the Bellevue School District’s decisions. Goncharoff has argued that the decision to fire him was based on improperly applied policies. Jones has filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the Public Employment Relations Commission. And booster club president John Connors told supporters over the weekend that litigation may be necessary to protect the program.

Goncharoff built Bellevue into a football dynasty. The team won 11 state championships in 15 years, including a 67-game winning streak. The program has produced several star players who went on to major college careers and to the NFL, most recently Jacksonville Jaguars draft pick Myles Jack.

Along the way, competitors have complained that Bellevue was bending the rules.

Last year, after a Seattle Times story detailed how numerous Bellevue players had actually been taking classes at a private alternative school that former teachers described as a “diploma mill,” the school district called for an independent investigation.

That probe confirmed some of the problems that The Times found and also detailed other issues, including families that had used false addresses to gain eligibility, a school district that had obstructed the investigation, and evidence that Goncharoff had been paid beyond the bounds of WIAA rules.

Seattle Times reporter Mike Baker contributed to this report.