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If an Ohio school plays a Kentucky school, who's rules are to be followed?

Example: If a Kentucky school comes to Ohio to play and has a Jr. High player on the varsity roster, is that Jr. High player eligible to play since Ohio does not allow for 7th and 8th graders to play high school ball?

Example: If an Ohio school goes to Kentucky to play, are they allowed to play Jr. High players on the high school team (not that anyone would with the Ohio rule) since Kentucky allows it?

I have heard that each school is to follow the rules set forth by their respective states and if a KY team plays in OH, they can play under KY rules while Ohio has to play by OH rules. I have also heard that wherever the game is being played, the rules set forth by that state are applied, meaning a Jr. High player would be ineligible to play if the game is being played in Ohio.

This was brought to my attention and I was interested to see everyone's thoughts and an official rule regarding this.

I was intrigued by your question. I had an opinion but to avoid speculation I directed the question @ Jerry Snodgrass (OHSAA Executive Director). We'll see if we can get an official answer.

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I believe each team has to follow the rules of their home state

mlittle wrote: ↑Mon Jan 07, 2019 6:07 pm I believe each team has to follow the rules of their home state

Right or wrong, Ashland (KY) played at South Point (OH) last season. OHSAA has a 5qtr rule, KHSAA does not. An Ashland player played in the JV & Varsity game. Ashland was assessed a Technical Foul when that player entered the varsity game for their 6th qtr of the day.

Tri-StateYouthSports wrote: ↑Mon Jan 07, 2019 6:20 pm

mlittle wrote: ↑Mon Jan 07, 2019 6:07 pm I believe each team has to follow the rules of their home state

Right or wrong, Ashland (KY) played at South Point (OH) last season. OHSAA has a 5qtr rule, KHSAA does not. An Ashland player played in the JV & Varsity game. Ashland was assessed a Technical Foul when that player entered the varsity game for their 6th qtr of the day.

In my opinion this was the correct thing to do. The ky school should have known the qtr limitations put on by the ohsaa and abided by them.

My opinion is that the each school has to follow their home states rules regarding issues that could cause a player to be ineligible. This responsibility falls on the administration.

Players on the KY roster can play in the game regardless of grade. But the number of quarters played goes by Ohio rules if the game is played in Ohio. And yes that did happen at the Asland/ SP game.

That's really cool he replied to you so quick.

So if a KY school has a stud player who has played varsity since 7th grade and he has used up his 4 years of playing varsity, does that mean he can't play his junior or senior year if the game is held in Ohio?

Also, OHSAA bylaws prevent junior high students from playing in varsity contests, so that could be an issue as well if the game was played in Ohio.

4thgoal wrote: ↑Tue Jan 08, 2019 9:11 am So if a KY school has a stud player who has played varsity since 7th grade and he has used up his 4 years of playing varsity, does that mean he can't play his junior or senior year if the game is held in Ohio?

Also, OHSAA bylaws prevent junior high students from playing in varsity contests, so that could be an issue as well if the game was played in Ohio.

I asked that question yesterday as well.

Actually, OHSAA bylaws do permit an 8th grader to play HS sports but their senior year of eligibility would be impacted.

4-2-3 An 8th grade student may, at the student’s option, become eligible for interscholastic athletics
at the high school level when the student attains his/her 15th birthday before August 1 of the
ensuing school year. The student who chooses to commence high school eligibility while still
enrolled in grade eight is eligible at the school where the student is expected to enroll at the
ninth grade level. A student opting to commence her/his eligibility at the high school level shall
have no more than eight semesters of high school eligibility taken in order of attendance in
accordance with Bylaw 4-3-3. NOTE: This means that a student’s senior year of eligibility
will be affected if the student chooses to commence high school eligibility while still
enrolled in grade eight. Furthermore, if the student does not opt to become eligible at the
high school level, she/he shall be ineligible on account of her/his age at the 7th-8th grade
level of interscholastic competition.

Had that with OJ Mayo. 2 in Kentucky, 3 in Ohio, and 1 in WV. Too bad he didn’t play at his home school South Point. His brother Todd Mayo was good at South Point but didn’t have a coach

Got this from a high and trustworthy official.

Matt, I read the posts on SEOPS about Kentucky teams and quarters. In the past, Ohio teams had to play OHSAA rules regardless of where the game is and Kentucky teams had to play OHSAA rules in Ohio. Jerry Snodgrass said a couple of years ago that since the quarter rules are nowhere in the National Federalion Rule Book (they are up to each state) and elgibility rules likewise, it would be unfair to the visiting team to force them to play rules that they never agreed to (by being a member of the OHSAA, you have to use their rules). I will send an e-mail to OHSAA to see if this is still their decision.

Matt, I confirmed with OHSAA that what I told you was correct, OHSAA teams play by OHSAA rules and Kentucky schools play by their rules (concerning quarter and elgibility rules).
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I coached an Ohio MS football team several years ago. we played at Barboursville WV one game and the refs tried to force us to Kickoff at the beginning of the game. I insisted we weren't allowed too and had never practiced kickoffs. The White hat tried to force us to forfeit the game. When we headed to the bus the Bville coach agreed to place the ball at the 25 and play from there. (1) I WAS NOT going to get our kids hurt (2) I was not going to risk my job by breaking OHSAA rules prohibiting MS kickoffs.