BELLEVUE, Wash. — Bellevue High School's powerhouse football program will be on probation for three years after self-reporting violations of rules concerning out-of-season coaching and illegal recruiting.
A district spokeswoman confirmed Thursday that head football coach Butch Goncharoff will be suspended for two games next season and another coach will be suspended for three games.
In out-of-season coaching, a private program was treated as the Bellevue High School football strength and conditioning program, the Bellevue School District said in a news release this week. The program ran during the season and off-season, providing sport-specific training, as well as conditioning to students in violation of WIAA regulations.
District spokeswoman Elizabeth Sytman told KIRO 7 the illegal recruiting violation is leading to a two-game suspension for Goncharoff.
Sytman said the violation involved coaches providing food and rent money for a family of a player already on the team, which meets the WIAA's definition of illegal recruiting.
"It's a difficult situation. In my mind, the Bellevue High football program showed a great deal of strength in self-reporting the violations and accepting the sanctions," said Jeff Lowell, district director of athletics and activities.
An investigation was conducted by a third party into complaints in January regarding Washington Interscholastic Athletics Association rules.
As a result of the violations, there will be mandatory and ongoing training for all coaches within the football program on relevant board policies and procedures.
Bellevue High School will lose King County conference revenue shares this year and for two additional school years.
Former Bellevue player Marcus Griffin, now a defensive end at Arizona, praised the Bellevue program and said he felt like everything was done by the book.
"When I first moved to Bellevue everybody thought I was reached out to or that someone had influence over me moving. No, I wanted to move myself," Griffin said.
KIRO
