As the result of a clerical error by the city-wide interscholastic athletics commissioner, two Wisconsin high schools will forfeit all their 2024 games and face a two-year playoff ban. Milwaukee Bay View High School and Milwaukee Pulaski High School had hoped to swap conferences, but the proper steps, according to The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletics Association (WIAA), were not followed.
In the 2023 season, Milwaukee Bay View played in Richardson Division, meanwhile, Milwaukee Pulaski played in the Blackbourn Division. The two schools simply wanted to switch, a move that according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “has been commonplace over the years for City Conference programs.”
Unfortunately, the proper paperwork was not filed to make that move official. The WIAA would not comment on this specific incident, but broadly said in a statement, “The executive office can confirm that games played against non-approved WIAA conference opponents will result in a forfeit.”
A playoff ban would be a letdown, especially for Milwaukee Bay View, currently 3-3, whose athletic director Jay Wojcinski said, “We haven't made the playoffs for eight years, so it's kind of a big deal for the kids.” With this record, Milwaukee Bay View sits right on the cusp of qualifying for the playoffs in their division.
In placing blame on the city-wide interscholastic athletics commissioner, Wojcinski said, “She tells all of us in AD meetings, when we get things from the WIAA, 'You guys, don't fill this out.' Or when the WIAA sends like group emails to athletic directors and asks us, 'Hey, we need this done,' she tells us in either an email or in person, 'Do not do this stuff. I'm doing this.’”
Next season, the WIAA says that the two schools must return to their original conferences. They will be allowed to submit the proper paperwork to change conferences for the 2026 season.
