'That's just not fair': PIAA trying to bump Aliquippa football up to 5A — again

ALIQUIPPA – For the second time in two years, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association wants to bump up Aliquippa’s football team from Class 4A to 5A.

Aliquippa principal Stacey Alexander and athletic director Jennifer Damico were notified of the PIAA’s decision in a letter from PIAA executive director Joe Lombardi. Aliquippa received the letter Dec. 21.

The PIAA’s decision was based on its often confusing “competitive balance rule” that takes into account a team’s success and number of transfers it brings in over a two-year period.

In general, the PIAA moves up teams with considerable postseason success and adds more than three transfers in a two-year period.

In January of 2022 after the PIAA tried moving Aliquippa to 5A, Aliquippa appealed and won and remained in Class 4A the past two years.

This year, Aliquippa has until Jan. 10 to appeal. That process is underway.

Aliquippa has had great success the past two seasons, going 27-1 with two WPIAL Class 4A titles and two appearances in the state championship game. The Quips lost in the PIAA final last year but won this year.

That being said, Aliquippa didn’t have all the transfers the PIAA claims it did.

“They say we had 23 transfers ... 23 including Tiqwai Hayes,” coach Mike Warfield said. “They included him as one of the transfers.”

Hayes, a junior all-state running back who’s a Penn State recruit, has always lived and attended classes in the Aliquippa school district.

How can the PIAA list Hayes as a transfer?

How can the PIAA arrive at 23 transfers from a roster of 55 players?

“You tell me. It’s inaccurate,” Warfield said.

Two years ago when the PIAA tried to move up Aliquippa, the Quips had a boys enrollment of 118. At the time, PIAA enrollment for Class 1A was between 1-123. So Aliquippa actually had a Class 1A enrollment but had continued to voluntarily “play up.”

This past November when the PIAA released its enrollment requirements for the next two-year cycle, Aliquippa had 156 boys. That’s a Class 2A enrollment. The PIAA requirement for 2A is 144-216.

According to Warfield, Aliquippa had just two transfers this year but neither were significant contributors to the Quips’ 14-0 season.

“Their stats were all zeroes,” Warfield said of the two transfers. “They never played.”

Besides Hayes, several other starters on the PIAA’s list of Aliquippa transfers have in actuality never transferred.

“These are kids who have been playing here all their lives,” Warfield said. “There are kids (on the PIAA’s transfer list) who aren’t even on the team. I mean, it’s just inaccurate.”

When asked how the PIAA can arrive at that number of 23 transfers, Warfield said ““We do not know. We have no clue.”

Warfield was informed of the PIAA’s decision to bump up the Quips to 5A from superintendent Phillip Woods.

What was Warfield’s reaction?

“It was like ‘here we go again.’ I mean, we’re getting punished for being successful,” Warfield said.

“Any kid that comes here, we can’t deny them,” Warfield added. “But the kids who come here don’t help us. Two of the 23 kids they said transferred, we know there are two transfers for sure. But those two had zero stats. Zero tackles. Zero passing yards. Zero receptions. Zero everything. They never played.”

Two years ago when Aliquippa appealed the PIAA decision, the hearing was done online via Zoom. It was a long hearing that lasted more than 90 minutes, twice as long as the PIAA intended.

Representing Aliquippa were Woods, Alexander, Warfield, former Quip and NFL Hall of Fame defensive back Ty Law, team physician Dr. Stephen Hribar and athletic trainer Mike McGarvey.

Aliquippa’s appeal centered around player safety, economic disparity and specifics about the wording of the “competitive balance” rule.

The PIAA board overturned the PIAA’s original decision to move Aliquippa to 5A by a 21-4 vote.

If the PIAA turns down Aliquippa’s appeal this time, the Quips could wind up playing in a 5A conference such as the Allegheny Six. For the past two years, the Allegheny Six has included schools with enrollments of hundreds of more boys that Aliquippa: Upper St. Clair (504), Peters Township (497), Baldwin (492), Bethel Park (488), Moon (486) and South Fayette (428).

“That’s just not fair,” Warfield said.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: 'That's just not fair': PIAA trying to bump Aliquippa football up to 5A — again