On Thursday, November 21, 2024, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals granted the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission’s petition for writs of prohibition in two significant cases involving high school sports classifications. The court’s decision addressed challenges brought by the Commission against rulings from the Circuit Courts of Hardy and Tyler Counties.
The petitions originated from the Commission’s concerns regarding how the Circuit Courts had evaluated its classifications and decisions related to member schools. The court issued its ruling in response to cases numbered 24-664 and 24-665, both of which involved the authority of the Commission to regulate interscholastic athletic classifications.
In Case No. 24-664, the respondents included the Honorable C. Carter Williams, Judge of the Circuit Court of Hardy County, along with the Hardy County Board of Education and East Hardy High School. Meanwhile, Case No. 24-665 involved the Honorable Richard Wilson, Judge of the Circuit Court of Tyler County, the Tyler County Board of Education, and Tyler County Consolidated High School.
The Commission, represented by attorneys Stephen F. Gandee, Jeffrey A. Kimble, and Lindsay M. Stollings from Robinson & McElwee PLLC, argued that the circuit courts had overstepped their legal boundaries by intervening in the Commission’s internal decision-making processes regarding school classifications. Specifically, the Supreme Court found that the Circuit Court of Tyler County had erred by ordering the Commission to revert the classification of Tyler Consolidated High School from Class AA to Class A for volleyball and cheerleading. This ruling was made after the school had already participated in Class AA competitions.
The court noted that the Tyler County Circuit Court’s decision stemmed from a belief that the Commission had failed to act quickly enough in addressing classifications outside of football, which is a male-dominated sport. This ruling was seen as an improper judicial intervention into the Commission’s authority, which is defined under West Virginia Code § 18-2-25.
In a separate ruling concerning Case No. 24-664, the Supreme Court determined that the Circuit Court of Hardy County had also exceeded its authority by directing the Commission to exclude Tyler Consolidated from the Class A tournament. The Supreme Court emphasized that courts generally should not interfere with the internal affairs of athletic commissions, reinforcing the Commission’s autonomy in managing classifications and athletic events.
The Supreme Court’s ruling effectively vacated the injunctions issued by both circuit courts, enabling the Commission to proceed with its classifications for the Class A volleyball and cheer championships as originally planned. The decision reiterated that the Commission had the legal authority to make classifications and that disputes regarding those decisions should be handled internally through the appropriate channels, such as the Board of Review.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
