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The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association has disciplined Volunteer High School’s football program after finding violations of recruiting and offseason practice rules, issuing probation, a fine and limits on team workouts. The penalties reduce the Falcons’ preseason preparation but do not bar them from postseason play — a key detail as the program rebuilds under a new coach.
What the TSSAA found
The state’s governing body said its probe identified repeated organized sessions outside the permitted offseason practice window and contact with a player enrolled at another high school. TSSAA Executive Director Mark Reeves framed the conduct as breaches of both the association’s calendar and its recruiting bylaws.
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Investigators concluded Volunteer held group activities involving more than six participants on multiple occasions beyond the allowed 10-day offseason period. In a separate incident, a Cherokee High School player attended a “Sunday training” session and took part in on-field drills for roughly 30–40 minutes — an action the TSSAA considers an impermissible practice for students not enrolled at the host school.
According to the TSSAA letter, Volunteer’s head coach, Jeremy Wagner, also spoke with the visiting student and his father at the school’s field house and contacted at least one college on the player’s behalf during that meeting, conduct the association says crossed the line into improper recruiting.
Penalties and immediate effects
The association imposed a series of sanctions designed to limit Volunteer’s short-term practice capacity and to place the program under longer-term oversight.
- No additional group offseason practice opportunities for the 2025–26 school year — only individual instruction limited to six players per day is allowed.
- Reduced offseason access for 2026–27: the program may hold five practice days within any 15-day span.
- Probation through the 2027–28 school year and a $1,000 fine, assessed as $500 per year.
Programs placed on probation remain eligible for postseason competition, the TSSAA noted. The association also ruled the visiting Cherokee student would be ineligible to play for Volunteer for 12 months if he subsequently enrolls there.
School response and next steps
Hawkins County Schools Superintendent Matt Hixson told local media the district cooperated with the investigation and supports the TSSAA’s decision. He said administrators and athletic staff are working together to tighten compliance and prevent future violations.
The ruling arrives as Volunteer attempts to sustain on-field progress. Wagner, in his first season as head coach, led the Falcons to a 7–4 record after two winless seasons before his arrival — a turnaround the program will now try to protect within stricter offseason limits.
Why this matters now
For the players, the sanctions cut into structured team preparation time that can be crucial for development and for exposure to college recruiters. For the program, probation places a spotlight on future conduct: the TSSAA warned that additional infractions could prompt harsher discipline, including penalties that might affect postseason eligibility.
Beyond Volunteer, the case signals that the TSSAA is actively enforcing recruiting and calendar rules, a reminder to other schools that informal or well-intentioned offseason activities can carry consequences if they fall outside the association’s definitions.
At a glance: key facts
- Offense: Unauthorized offseason practices and contact/recruiting activity with a student from another school.
- Sanctions: Practice restrictions (2025–26, 2026–27), probation through 2027–28, $1,000 fine.
- Player outcome: Visiting Cherokee student would face a 12-month ineligibility if he enrolls at Volunteer.
- Postseason: Program remains eligible while on probation.
The TSSAA’s action closes this investigation but opens a monitoring period: Volunteer’s ability to stay compliant over the next three seasons will determine whether the penalties remain limited or escalate.
