MIAA field hockey and volleyball brackets postponed after court order

Scheduling for hundreds of field hockey and girls volleyball postseason tournament games was put on hold Tuesday as a Hampden Superior Court judge called an emergency hearing for the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association to challenge an injunction that was granted Monday issued to two high schools, claiming the organization unfairly penalized them for failing to submit their complete rosters on time.

The field hockey and volleyball tournaments are scheduled to begin on Thursday. Even if a judge issues a ruling Wednesday, it will be an enormous challenge for the MIAA to finalize schedules in time for schools to arrange transportation to tournament games the next day. Teams in multiple divisions travel across the country to compete.

On Monday, Judge Tracy Duncan sided with Minnechaug Regional High School, Wilbraham and Monson High School and temporarily overturned the MIAA's order that the schools play games they played in Western Mass. Tournament, had to forfeit because they had not submitted their full season plans in time.

The penalty also applies to games in the Western Mass. tournament involving the Minnechaug and Monson boys' and girls' soccer teams. MIAA football tournament schedules will be released Friday, with the first games scheduled to begin Sunday. Depending on the timing of the judge's decision, these games could also be affected.

At issue is Minnechaug and Monson's failure to comply with an MIAA directive implemented in 2021 that requires schools to submit their complete fall plans by Sept. 13. Minnechaug and Monson submitted their plans but failed to include Western Mass. Tournament to designate as “TBA” games that each team could play after its regular season and before the MIAA Tournament.

Minnechaug and Monson said they tried to correct their missed deadline but were rebuffed by the MIAA. The MIAA then decided that all games in its Western Mass. tournaments would be counted as forfeit, potentially leading to a mix-up of final standings and tournament placement. Minnechaug competes in MIAA Division 2 and Monson competes in Division 5.

The two schools argued that the MIAA's decision was “arbitrary and capricious,” the standard the state Supreme Court has set for lower courts to decide cases involving the state's athletic association. For example, both schools claimed that the MIAA made exceptions for football teams that did not meet the submission deadline, but not for them.

When the MIAA requested the emergency hearing, it said the judge issued the injunction without listening to the organization's perspective. In a motion filed for the hearing, the MIAA said Minnechaug, Monson and other western Massachusetts schools that compete in regional tournaments before the state tournament were reminded seven times before Sept. 13 of their full schedules, including the note Submit “TBA” for league playoffs.

The MIAA said the Western Massachusetts league – the Pioneer Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference – had agreed that its playoff games involving schools that did not properly submit their schedules would be forfeited.

“The schools were well aware of the impact of participating in the unreported PVIAC tournament games, but chose to participate anyway,” the MIAA said.

Additionally, the MIAA alleged that Minnechaug and Monson “want to completely upend the separate state tournaments in as many as four sports involving nearly all 385 member schools, scheduling hundreds of games for state tournament competition and thousands of student-run games.” “It should start this week.”

If the judge upholds the injunction, the MIAA could proceed with its tournament scheduling based on the actual results of Minnechaug and Monson's regional playoff games rather than treating them as losses. Or it could appeal the ruling, further delaying the trial.

The MIAA issued a statement Tuesday saying, “Rest assured, the (tournament) brackets will be released once this matter is resolved.” Our goal is to continue the field hockey and volleyball competitions on Wednesday ( October 30th). The integrity, clarity and accuracy of our brackets must take precedence at this time.”

Minnechaug and Monson weren't the only schools in the Pioneer Valley league to miss the deadline. More than a dozen schools did not list these games as TBA.

Bob Hohler can be reached at [email protected]. Craig Larson can be reached at [email protected].