Report: Three Tennessee high school football teams violate TSSAA recruiting rules
According to a report by The Tennessean on Thursday evening, multiple Tennessee high school football programs violated the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSA) recruiting rule. Per the report, Brentwood Academy (TN) self-imposed sanctions on its own football program in response to the TSSAA recruiting rule violation after the state association had put in an inquiry regarding the matter. The TSSAA sent a letter to Brentwood Academy regarding the situation surrounding the recruiting rule.
“While commenting or liking transfer announcements may seem inconsequential, when a student has signed a contract formally declaring their intent to transfer, such interactions can validate others who might be considering transferring to a school by commenting on or sharing their announcements through social media. For this reason, activities such as this are considered a violation of Article II, Section 17 (the recruiting rule),” the TSSAA letter states according to the Tennessean. The TSSAA recruiting rule, Article II, Section 17, prohibits school-associated personnel from using influence, including social media interactions, to induce students to attend a school for athletic purposes.
Illegal recruiting includes direct contact with athletes from the seventh grade and on, offering special benefits, or targeting prospective students via social media. Brentwood Academy finished the 2025 season with a 12-1 record, ranked fourth in the state, according to the final Tennessee High School Football Massey Rankings after reaching the BlueCross Bowl TSSAA Class 3A, Division II state championship game. With a number of players recently announcing their intentions to transfer to Eagles, it certainly puts the program under scrutiny.
“There’s a gray area in the interpretation of our violation,” Brentwood Academy coach Paul Wade said in the report about the violation. “We did exactly what we thought was correct. What’s disturbing about it is … Why would we jeopardize our program by putting something in the public eye of social media if it was illegal?
I just don’t see the correlation there whatsoever. But they say it is (a violation) and they’re the governing body, so we do what they say. ” After a kid has already been accepted … That’s not enticing a kid to come to school.