Lipscomb Academy football season over; school will not file injunction
Lipscomb Academy's football season officially is over. The Nashville private school will not file a court injunction against the TSSAA, ending any hopes of a last-ditch effort to participate in the Tennessee high school playoffs that begin Friday.
Lipscomb Academy headmaster Brad Schultz broke the news to families in an email Wednesday morning, two days after the TSSAA Board of Control denied the school's appeal to lift a two-year postseason ban in an 8-4 decision. The TSSAA had ruled Lipscomb violated the state organization's recruiting rule because of a text message exchange between a football staffer and a former parent.
Schultz said the school and its legal counsel met with TSSAA representatives Tuesday to discuss the sanctions. He said the school will meet with the Board of Control on Nov. 16 to "discus remedial efforts that it has taken and continues to put in place at an upcoming meeting scheduled for Nov. 16, 2023."
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"This is an important opportunity to share the specific measures we are putting in place and outline future steps to ensure compliance," Shultz wrote. "Based on this meeting and many hours with outside counsel, Lipscomb Academy has decided not to file an injunction at this time, although we are reserving the right to pursue all available legal remedies at any appropriate time."
Schultz said the school is focused on making improvements to ensure it does not repeat the errors that have stripped the football program of competing in the postseason.
Lipscomb Academy finished the season 4-6 — it was forced to forfeit its win over Briarcrest Christian after it played two ineligible players, identified by The Tennessean as four-star quarterback Deuce Knight and his cousin Kohl Bradley. Both players were ruled by the TSSAA as not having a bona fide change of address, breaking the TSSAA rules regarding transfers.
But it was the recruiting rule violation that led to TSSAA executive director Mark Reeves' ruling to place Lipscomb Academy's football program under restrictive probation for two years, which includes a two-year playoff ban.
The decision ends Lipscomb's first season under Pro Football Hall of Famer Kevin Mawae, who replaced former Super Bowl winning quarterback Trent Dilfer as the Mustangs' football coach. Dilfer left after four seasons to take the UAB football coaching position.
Lipscomb Academy had won back-to-back Division II-AA state championships under Dilfer, who also had a state runner-up finish in his second season in 2020.
Prior to the 2022 state championship, the school choose to move the football program up to Division II-AAA to compete with some of the elite programs in the state, including Chattanooga boarding schools Baylor and McCallie, along with the Nashville area's Montgomery Bell Academy and Brentwood Academy.
The Mustangs' nonregion slate also included strong out of state competition after it was unable to land in-state games. Lipscomb Academy opened the season with national powerhouse IMG Academy and followed that with a game at reigning Alabama Class 6A state champion Saraland. Lipscomb Academy also played Christian Brothers out of Missouri.
The playoff ban ends the high school careers of Tennessee football commits and four-star athletes Kaleb Beasley and Edwin Spillman, who had vital roles on both state championship seasons. However, the program has several 2025 college football recruits in key roles, including offensive lineman Chauncey Gooden, linebacker Kris Thompson, defensive back C.J. Jimcoily and defensive linemen Tony Carter and Amir Leonard-Jean Charles.
Reach Tom Kreager at tkreager@tennessean.com and on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter @Kreager.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Lipscomb Academy football season over; school will not file injunction
