Kansas high school basketball team loses game — against its own alumni — due to obscure rule

A Kansas high school basketball team took what has to be the most surprising loss in school history recently.

Sedgwick High‘s boys basketball was forced to forfeit its upcoming game on January 7 against Berean Academy because of an alumni scrimmage it held over the school’s holiday break, according to a report from SI High School’s Levi Payton. The violation comes from Rule 30, Article 6, Section A of the Kansas activities rulebook which states, “During a scrimmage there can be no score kept and no clock. Use of officials is permitted.

The Kansas State High School Activities Association recently ruled that because score was kept in the contest between the school’s current team and its alumni, it in fact counts toward the number of games they’re allowed to play during the season.

The rule continues, “Should one or more game elements (score or time) be involved, it would no longer be a scrimmage, but must count toward the number of contests allowed during the season. Intrasquad scrimmages, games among teammates, even with score, time and/or officials used would not be considered a game.”

KHSSAA ruled that the usage of a scoreboard to keep a tally during the alumni contest during the holiday break should count as a game. And thus would mean they have to forfeit their next contest to not go over the number of allowed regular season contests.

Sedgwick is now is 1-5 on the season with the alumni game “loss” and has lost three of its other contests by more than 25 points.