The UIL State Executive Committee denied an eligibility appeal by Ropes junior Tyson Reyes on Monday, upholding the decision of the District 3-2A Division II Executive Committee.
Reyes, a first-team defensive lineman on the A-J’s 2024 small-school football Super Team, attended Sundown last school year. He was “dismissed” from the athletics program three weeks before summer break for “multiple” violations of the school’s code of conduct for athletes, according to testimony during the public hearing.
A resident of Levelland while attending Sundown, the behavioral incidents also caused the revocation of his transfer. As a result, Reyes’ parents said the family moved to Ropesville in order to place him in a school of similar size.
The DEC voted 3-0 on Aug. 20 that Reyes changed schools for athletics purposes in violation of UIL rule. District rivals Ropes and Sundown recused themselves, with Plains, Smyer and Tahoka voting to make Reyes ineligible for varsity sports.
DEC chair Daylan Sellers of Seagraves, which also recused itself, said statements made by Reyes during the 2024 football season that he was considering a transfer to Ropes likely played a big role in their decision.
“There was several statements that the committee felt like … Tyson had made prior, throughout the year, to more than one person that he was planning on moving, transferring to Ropes to play this year,” Sellers said. “I feel like that was the reason the committee voted the way they did.”
SEC chair Curtis Culwell asked Reyes on Monday if he ever mentioned a move to Ropes, to which Reyes conceded he did in the leadup to Sundown’s game against the Eagles.
Reyes enrolled at Ropes on July 31, and the family’s residence in town was verified Aug. 7, Ropes principal Tim Carter said. Eagles athletic director and football coach Beau Riker estimated Reyes began summer workouts with the team in the “middle of June” after the family presented Carter with documentation of their house within Ropes ISD.
After hearing testimony from all involved parties, the SEC voted 4-0 to deny the appeal.
As a sophomore, Reyes logged 85 tackles (58 solo), including 21 for a loss, three sacks and 17 quarterback hurries. Sundown handed Ropes its only regular-season loss, 28-21, last year.
RISD superintendent Dade Cosby questioned where Reyes would have eligibility since his previous transfer to Sundown was revoked. Students generally are eligible for varsity competition at one school, but UIL Executive Director Jamey Harrison said certain circumstances don’t allow for that.
Culwell concluded the meeting saying the UIL would further discuss Reyes’ situation.
“I will tell you, it is not 100% of the time that a kid is eligible somewhere for varsity,” Harrison said. “They’re eligible for subvarsity, but eligibility for varsity competition is something we try to provide in the rules, but there are circumstances that come up where a student is just not. So we’ll have to see.”
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: UIL State Executive Committee denies eligibility appeal by Ropes football’s Tyson Reyes
Reporting by Stephen Garcia, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
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