Asbury Park, NJ, may have to forfeit entire football season

The future of the Asbury Park High School football season remains in doubt due to a lack of players being academically eligible to play.

Asbury Park had to forfeit their first game at Weequahic last Friday when they didn't have enough eligible players.

With the first home game scheduled for Friday, Sept. 6, it's unclear if enough players will be deemed eligible to play.

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) sets minimum eligibility standards for varsity athletes. The standards are not based on current grade point averages, but rather on a formula of credits.

To be eligible, students must have accumulated a certain percentage of credits needed for graduation according to benchmarks set for the previous year.

Based on that formula, it would be unlikely that players would be deemed eligible in just one weeks time, and could jeopardize the entire season.

NJSIAA ACEDEMIC ELIGIBILITY RULES:
1. To be eligible for athletic competition during the first semester (September 1 to January 31) a pupil must have passed 25% of the credits (30) required by the State of New Jersey for graduation (120), during the immediately preceding academic year. 2. To be eligible for athletic competition during the second semester (Feb. 1 to June 30), a pupil must have passed the equivalent of 121/2% of the credits (15) required by New Jersey for graduation (120) at the close of the preceding semester (Jan. 31). Full-year courses shall be equated as one- half of the total credits to be gained for the full year to determine credits passed during the immediately preceding semester.

District Superintendent RaShawn Adams called the decision to forfeit last Friday's game "heartbreaking," but has not said what comes next.

Adams told the Asbury Park Press it was a very difficult decision to forfeit. "As heartbreaking as it is, I could not knowingly send players to play who are ineligible, Adams said, "Those eligible student athletes will be able to play JV (junior varsity) where appropriate."

School officials have yet to update the status of the roster for this week.

Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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