San Angelo Standard-Times
RICHLAND SPRINGS - Time is running out for Richland Springs High School head football coach Jerry Burkhart in his attempts to return to the sideline for the 2022 season.
On Friday, the nine-time state champion coach was denied a temporary restraining order filed in federal court against the University Interscholastic League’s three-year suspension for recruiting handed down in September. That forced Burkhart to relinquish all coaching duties, causing him to miss the past three football games.
There are two more regular-season games on the schedule for the Richland Springs team, which also is on a three-year probation, stemming from the finding of recruiting violations by the local district executive committee Aug. 23. The UIL’s State Executive Committee on Sept. 12 denied an appeal by the coach and the school.
What's at stake for coach Jerry Burkhart, Richland Springs Coyotes
In jeopardy for the football program and its coach are the state playoffs, which lead to an eventual state championship game in December. Under Burkhart, the Coyotes have yearly aspirations of state championships since winning their first state title in 2004.
After the final week of the regular season – Nov. 4, when Richland Springs has an open date – the playoffs start Nov. 11, with the first of four playoff games that could lead to the state championship game set for Dec. 14 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Robert Pittman for the Western District of Texas in Austin denied temporary relief for Burkhart, while his lawyer prepares for a lawsuit overturning the UIL decision on the recruiting allegation based on constitutional rights.
“We filed the lawsuit in state court in Travis County on (Oct. 7) and had a hearing in front of a state court judge on the 11th,” said Jon Mark Hogg of Jackson Walker LLP in San Angelo. “During that hearing, the (Texas) attorney general’s office, appearing on behalf of the UIL and the executive committees removed it into federal court because of the federal constitutional issues.”
“We presented the TRO last Friday (Oct. 14) to the federal judge and he denied the TRO and instructed us to get together and get a schedule and set a hearing date.” Hogg said.
Currently coaching the Richland Springs team are assistant coaches Shawn Rogers, Harley Ethridge and Jeremy Martin. According to RSISD Superintendent James Womack, longtime assistant coach Rogers has resumed his duties as offensive coordinator while Ethridge coaches defense.
Martin is in charge of special teams. Burkhart was the defensive coordinator at the time of his suspension.
According to an email from UIL Deputy Director Dr. Jamey Harrison outlining the parameters of the suspension, Burkhart "cannot be a part of coaching in any way. No practices, practice planning, personnel decisions, film analysis, nothing."
As the RSISD athletic director, Burkhart had "administrative only duties that do not have anything to do with coaching."
Without Burkhart on the sidelines, the Coyotes beat Coolidge 74-30 on the Friday following the district's ruling, then had an open date before facing then-No. 3 Cherokee in the District 16-1A D-II opener. The Indians beat Richland Springs 78-47, Cherokee’s first win over the Coyotes since 2000, it is believed.
Last Friday, Richland Springs bounced back for a 44-40 win over Rochelle. The Coyotes currently are ranked No. 5.
Coach Jerry Burkhart's legal effort
The suspension has caused Burkhart to miss three games and more than five school weeks of instructional time with his athletes.
Unless Burkhart's employment status changes, the coach is asking for a permanent injunction against the order against coaching at any UIL member school for three years, Hogg explained.
“We have decided to forego a temporary injunction hearing at this time. We will request expedited discovery and an expedited final hearing on the merits,” Hogg said on Wednesday.
The lawsuit states that “Burkhart has a constitutionally protected liberty and property interest in continuing his employment and working as Richland Springs head football coach and pursuing his chosen profession of coaching high school football” and that the order of the governing body of public high school athletic competition in Texas “injures his reputation in the coaching community, deprives him of his ability to perform his job, meet his contractual obligations and prevents him from being able to make a living or work in his chosen profession.”
The lawsuit goes on to state that the UIL decision will “likely….result in Burkhart losing his job” and that it “violated Burkhart’s rights under the First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and Article I Secs. 8 and 19 of the Texas Constitution.”
According to the lawsuit, “Burkhart also seeks a declaration that Section 409 of the UIL Constitution & Contest Rules is unconstitutionally vague on its face, or as applied in this case.”
Richland Springs High School was also found to have violated Section 409 of the UIL Constitution & Contest Rules (C&CR), which prohibits recruiting, and the SEC issued a public reprimand and a three-year probation, stopping short of a playoff ban for the Class 1A Division II football program. The Burkhart lawsuit, however, did not address the punishment for the school.
What led to the appeal
The appeal Sept. 12 was in response to the August meeting of the District 16-1A Division II Executive Committee at the Rochelle ISD administration building. At that time, a complaint of recruiting was brought against Burkhart by a neighboring school from which an athlete transferred to Richland Springs.
On Aug. 23, the DEC met to determine whether two UIL C&CR Rules were violated when a football player from Mullin enrolled at Richland Springs, 32 miles to the southwest of Mullin and winner of the 2019 UIL Class 1A Division II state football championship.
At the Aug. 23 meeting, the DEC ruled that the player had moved for athletic purposes – a violation of Section 443 of the rules that govern all UIL athletic competition – and that Burkhart had violated Section 409, which prohibits enticing a student-athlete to transfer to a school to participate in athletic competition.
Present at the meeting were committee chairperson Lewis, along with Freeman, Graves and Bordner. Also present was Womack. The Richland Springs’ representative on the committee was not allowed a vote.
Each district has an executive committee, made up of an administrator from each school in the district.
The DEC vote Aug. 23 was 3-1 in favor of finding Burkhart guilty of recruiting. Freeman was the single “no” vote.
Richland Springs was ranked No. 2 in the state by Texas Football magazine at the time of the SEC ruling, which went into immediate effect.
According to the UIL website, the SEC is comprised of school administrators from across the state. Smaller panels are formed to hear appeals of district executive committee decisions. The committee members present during the Sept. 12 meeting included Mike Motheral, the chairman, along with Johanna Denson, the vice chairman, and Paul Galvan.
Also present were UIL staff members Dr. Charles Breithaupt, the executive director of the UIL, along with Harrison, although only the committee members are allowed to vote on the appeal.
The lawsuit names as defendants: The University Interscholastic League; Michael Motheral, Arturo Cavazos, James Colbert Jr., Curtis Culwell, Johanna Denson, Paul Galvan, Leandro Gonzales Jr., Edna Kennedy, Glen Teal, Marshall Scott III, Carla Voelkel and Daryl Wade, in their official capacities as members of the UIL State Executive Committee; in addition to Dave Lewis of Rochelle ISD, Jennifer Bordner of Cherokee ISD, Jack Graves of Brookesmith ISD and Leon Freeman of Lohn ISD, in their capacities as members of the UIL District 16A-1A Division II Executive.
More detail on the lawsuit
According to the “Factual Background” section of the lawsuit:
“Burkhart is under a written two-year contract with the Richland Springs ISD to serve as head coach. Under this contract he cannot be terminated except for good cause or extreme financial exigency that requires a reduction in personnel. Of course, one of the requirements of any employment contract is that he must be able to do the work for which he was hired.”
The lawsuit goes on to recount details of the matter related during the August district executive committee meeting at Rochelle, with Burkhart generally denying recruiting violations but explaining events from his point of view.
The lawsuit does not deny that two telephone calls took place between Burkhart and the student-athlete from another school district, but that the SEC did not let the coach testify as to the content of the two phone calls.
“Rather than consider this testimony, it appeared the SEC had already made their decision before the hearing started,” the lawsuit reads. “The SEC was solely focused on the length of the… phone call… and the claim that Burkhart should have hung up on the student and called the coach at Mullin. The Chair (Motheral) was openly hostile to Burkhart during the proceedings berating him….about the ‘Coach’s code of honor.’”
The lawsuit further states that “Burkhart was never given a chance to provide an opening statement, cross-examine witnesses or have questions submitted to the relevant witnesses or make a closing argument. The documents Burkhart provided in evidence were never considered or discussed.”