The Southern Section introduced on Friday that it has declared 20 switch college students at Bishop Montgomery athletically ineligible for 2 years following an investigation that decided they violated CIF bylaws when transferring to the Catholic faculty in (*20*) to play football.
The announcement comes after the varsity fired its coach, Ed Hodgkiss, canceled the rest of its season after taking part in one sport and introduced the resignation of President Patrick Lee following an investigation by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
The Southern Section launched the next assertion: “Based upon the investigation, self-reporting, and findings of Bishop Montgomery High School, along with CIF-Southern Section’s own independent review, the Southern Section has determined that multiple students transferred to Bishop Montgomery High School to play varsity football for the 2025-2026 school year in violation of CIF bylaws.
“Notification has been sent to Bishop Montgomery High School administrators and parents/guardians of the football transfer student-athletes. Those determinations [have been/will be] posted on the CIF-Southern Section website in conformance with Section practices. The CIF-Southern Section and its staff will not comment on individual student athletic eligibility.”
The former coach and several players previously hired an attorney to investigate the matter.
The Southern Section beforehand introduced ineligibility for 5 players. After additional investigation, there are 20 players listed as ineligible on the Southern Section switch portal.
Some of these players had been anticipated to attempt to switch to different faculties after Bishop Montgomery discontinued varsity football. They are listed as ineligible for 2 years.