The CIF voted in April 2017 to revise its rules regarding "athletically motivated" transfers effective July 1, 2017.  The bylaws previously prohibited "athletically motivated" transfers, as defined by the CIF, and if a transfer was found to be such, the student-athlete would lose a year of eligibility unless there was an applicable exception such as a valid change of residence or a qualifying hardship.  

Now, students are allowed to transfer for athletically motivated reasons, such as a better sports program, more visibility, etc. Certain things are still forbidden however, such as following a coach to a new school or being recruited to a new school.  And the Sit Out Periods still apply as they previously did.   

Maurice Washington III is a star running back entering his junior year of high school.  However, the CIF is currently preventing Maurice from playing football at his home school, Oak Grove High School in San Jose, California, because it claims that he transferred to Oak Grove for athletically motivated reasons. 

Maurice attended The King’s Academy in Sunnyvale, California, beginning in the 9th grade, after allegedly being recruited to attend due to his athletic talent.  Now that he wants to leave, King’s Academy filed a protest with the CIF, trying to prevent Maurice from playing football at Oak Grove, ironically claiming that he transferred there for athletic reasons.  

Maurice was reportedly unhappy socially and academically at King’s Academy.  But the school claims that because his mother was unhappy that a teacher/assistant football coach was fired by the school, that his decision to transfer was “athletically motivated.”   The CIF bought this argument and has ruled Maurice ineligible for his entire junior year.

The CIF’s current bylaws provide that if a student transfers based on “athletic motivation,” they are ineligible to compete at their new school for one year from the date of transfer.  While the term “athletic motivation” is not defined, the CIF provides several non-exclusive factors that could lead the CIF to deem a transfer to be athletically motivated.  One of the various factors is evidence of parental or student dissatisfaction with a coach or coaching decision.  As a result, Maurice, a 2015 Max Preps All-American as a sophomore, will now lose his entire junior year of eligibility.  

The CIF has approved a revision to Bylaw 1901 to further clarify and define the type of drills that may take place and equipment that may be used at team camps and other off-season football activities.

While “full contact” practices are prohibited off-season, the revision to Bylaw 1901 limits the equipment allowed at off-season team camps and other off-season activities to footballs, pads, blocking sleds, and football shoes.

The revision was approved at the April Federated Council meeting and is effective immediately. 

In a case with career-altering implications for one of the state’s top high school basketball prospects, attorneys Amanda Beck and Lauren Dodge successfully appealed a ruling by the California Interscholastic Federation (“CIF”) that the young man’s transfer to a Bay Area high school was “athletically motivated.”  The CIF had previously found the player ineligible for the entirety of the 2014-2015 season.  With the reversal, he was allowed to take the court immediately, leading his team to victory with 17 points and 15 rebounds in his first league game.

The California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section has cleared junior Marvin Bagley III to play his junior year, reversing its earlier finding that he was ineligible because his transfer to a Chatsworth high school was athletically motivated. 

The 6-foot-11 Bagley left Phoenix Hillcrest Prep in November and was being home schooled, before moving to Southern California and enrolling in Sierra Canyon High School in January. 

The CIF determined that the move was athletically motivated, and ruled he was ineligible to play until January 4, 2017 – one year from his date of enrollment. Bagley lost his CIF appeal. 

But after Sierra Canyon submitted updated transfer paperwork, the CIF reversed its ruling, removing all restrictions on his eligibility. 

Sierra Canyon is Bagley’s third high school in the past year. He is one of the most highly touted recruits in the country.

The state CIF basketball championship just got a venue upgrade.

Starting in 2017, the open division championship tournament will be played at the new Golden 1 Center in downtown Sacramento, the new home of the Kings. The new arena, which will open for the Kings' 2016-17 season, seats 17,500 and is considered a centerpiece for Sacramento's downtown entertainment district. 

The Kings organization has been a longtime supporter of high school athletics, hosting the tournament 19 of the past 25 years.

The CIF rules governing participation on club and school teams can be a trap for the unwary. A southern California high school soccer team was forced to forfeit its playoff berth after the CIF discovered a player on the school team was also improperly playing for his club team in violation of CIF bylaws: 

A simple clerical oversight can sometimes have serious consequences in CIF-governed competitions. One Southern California basketball team was forced to forfeit a hard-fought league win against a cross-town rival after inadvertently allowing an academically-ineligible player to participate:

A southern California football team forfeited its chance at a CIF-Southern Section title after self-reporting the unintentional use of an ineligible player. Immediately after learning about the student’s ineligibility, the principal reported it to the CIF. The player at issue had lied about his participation the previous season on another school’s football team.