Anderson High School Football’s coaching staff has been placed on probation by OHSAA after a team coach provided evidence claiming fifteen (15) practice violations between February and May of 2026.
The report (click link to view full report) was first submitted to the administrators at FHSD. OHSAA rules require mandatory reporting of rules violations if they are observed, and the administration sent the report to OHSAA. Under the OHSAA Handbook, page 35, section 3-1-2 it states violations observed are required to be reported. (Evidence of this requirement is included on page 20 of the Investigation Summary)
When a claim is submitted, OHSAA consistently advises the districts to self-report and investigate and the district conducted its own investigation finding 2 of the 5 allegations in violation of the rules.
In transparency, we were alerted to the violation in July; and sent Public Records requests to the district, emails to the Coaches, principal, and Athletic Director asking for clarification of the probation, in addition to an email to the OHSAA Director of Officiating and Football Administrator, Beau Rugg. At that time, Rugg advised the following:
“The School may certainly share their sanctions with you. I do not share anything that is not public before those violations come out in our Board Minutes.” (see Rugg’s email here)
OHSAA is likely to confirm after August 27th when the next OHSAA board meeting occurs, and minutes are published.
It was our decision to wait until a public announcement was made before sharing context.
Why is the team on probation?
Coach Evan Dreyer & the coaching staff were found to have violated OHSAA rules governing team practices in section 7 of the Handbook many times since February 2026.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) sets strict practice start dates to protect student health, ensure fair competition, and maintain academic balance.
What claims and evidence are included in the investigation summary?
The investigation summary does demonstrate some very concerning claims with supporting evidence:
- Claims that the coaching staff makes a concerted effort to avoid being caught violating the rules (p 17-19)
- Evan Dreyer emails do not align to published calendars
- Evan Dreyer has led the team this way over his entire 10-year tenure
- Evan Dreyer puts pressure on / shames coaches and players for not participating in these unsanctioned sessions at and away from the school at Nevel’s Gym in Northern KY (p6 – shown in image from the investigation below)
- Claims that the activities did not only occur in this year – but over many years
- Evidence provided includes practice calendars from 2024 & 2025
- Emails included of Evan Dreyer’s communication doesn’t match the team calendar
- Claim suggests that the team practices 30+ times pre-season and has done so for a decade or more (our conversations with player’s parents confirms the team has engaged players in this way for many years)
What happens while the team is on probation?
During a probationary period, a team often faces additional sanctions, such as postseason playoff bans, fines, coaching suspensions, and mandatory compliance seminars. Any further violations during this time will trigger automatic, escalated penalties. In this case, the entire AHS coaching staff will be required to attend ethics training.
Is a one-year penalty common?
The OHSAA does not historically hand down one-year probations specifically for minor summer schedule infractions.
While the OHSAA General Sports Regulations explicitly restrict out-of-season coaching, contact hours, and mandatory summer attendance, violations of these rules are handled differently than recruiting or game-fixing scandals: [1]
- Fines and Reprimands: First-time or minor schedule overages—such as conducting a padded practice during the voluntary summer window or executing excessive summer contact days—typically trigger monetary fines ranging from $500 to $2,500, formal administrative reprimands, or short-term suspensions for the head coach. [1, 2, 3]
- The Threshold for Probation: For a summer practice issue to escalate into a multi-year program probation, it must involve a deliberate attempt to circumvent compliance, fraudulent reporting, or a refusal to follow explicit health and safety mandates (such as the mandatory acclimatization period guidelines). [1, 2]
- The “Out-of-Season” Penalty Structure: If a coaching staff repeatedly holds mandatory, fully structured practices before the official August 1 statewide start date, the OHSAA is more likely to restrict the program’s allowed preseason scrimmage count or cut their permitted regular-season practice hours rather than issue a multi-year postseason ban. [1, 2]
What are the rules that were found to be violated?
The OHSAA Handbook outlines the rules, which coaches are required to review annually. The claim submitted (available in it’s full context here) showed there was evidence – including video of the events – submitted for a number of violations, however, the district’s self-assessment only identified two violations to be validated.
7.8- Individual Skill Instruction Definition
7.10 Individual Skill/Coaching Instruction
The team held fifteen (15) practices that were submitted for review for violations between February 17 and May 8th. (Videos were obtained via PRR and are available here).
The team contends that violations were only confirmed in May of 2026.
Were there previous claims, observations or evidence culture is a problem at AHS:
We’ve been fielding claims for over three years of perceived violations and serious issues with the team culture. We’ve only obtained documented evidence for a violation in this instance.
However, surveys obtained from prior years under Dreyer suggest there was some frustration by parents. And, in our many conversations – several parents of former AHS Football team shared their opinions that issues with the culture & behavior didn’t begin this year.
Several shared their own stories – one shared an allegation of cruel and physical locker room treatment that was reported verbally to the school and handled quietly in 2021 under the previous administration. Another alleged that a student was “dosed with Miralax” and ultimately left the team as a result of the treatment and failure to address the behaviors within the team. However, AdvocateFHSD was unable to confirm with PRR evidence that these incidents occurred.
Comments from parent & student surveys as far back as 2023-2024 season also suggest team cultural issues were observed and documented.
(Source:AHS Athletic survey via Public records request)
Editorial Comments:
This is a topic typically outside our primary focus – but when our community is affected by those employed by the district that represent us publicly, we feel it becomes important to share.
If a decision was made to violate the rules – it falls squarely on the coaching staff. One member demonstrated integrity by reporting the violation & providing evidence as the OHSAA rules require.
Coaches model integrity for players.
This is a seasoned coaching staff. Dreyer had been there for 10 years. All coaches are trained annually on the latest OHSAA handbook. WCPO’s article claimed Dreyer said it’s a struggle to have that ratio to ensure all kids are being developed in the offseason. The OHSAA explains that this is why OHSAA has the rules in place – to allow students time off, time for academics & time for other sports as well.
Fifteen practices were recorded and while only a few were found to be in violation – the claims made by a coach within the team and many families on the team both former and current say this is the way AHS has prepared & practiced since Dreyer started. That intentional and covert actions coupled with a willing culture make this approach possible. While it is possible that the coaching staff simply forgot the rules, it would be surprising given the claims by staff & parents and the tenure of the coaching staff.
We spoke to parents to understand their views on the probation – and many stated they believe the report and accept the consequences. However, more than one parent made a version of this statement: that since Dreyer started coaching in 2016, this is the way AHS has prepared and practiced, we don’t know why anyone would report it now. This shared sentiment led to an online petition for the removal of the coach that reported for effectively “violating the trust” of the team and “Creating a hostile working environment”.
A total of 94 people signed the petition before the author removed it from change.org . We’ve chosen not to share the petition in full and to omit the names of those involved in the creation of the petition and the specific coach they’ve highlighted.
While we cannot know for sure what led to the violation, a reasonable person’s hypothesis would be to suspect that if this was in fact a calculated decision, and not ignorance of the very rules by which play is governed, that the coaching staff weighed the consequences of violating as a risk/benefit calculation. And the calculation led them to perceive that the risk for this coaching staff outweighed the consequences for themselves and the students and the community they involved in this unfortunate situation. It seems a requirement to attend ethics classes is an appropriate response.
We hope all involved are able to reflect on the outcome, and use this moment as a learning opportunity for the better for our students and community.
