Cedar Hill head football coach Nick Ward was placed on leave and offensive coordinator Marcus Richardson has resigned, and documents were sent to the UIL and the 11-6A district executive committee to review for a possible investigation, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Dallas Morning News on Wednesday.
A document posted on Facebook alleges that three individuals were coaching during Cedar Hill practices and games who didn’t meet the eligibility requirements outlined by UIL rules, Texas Education Code and state law.
The two people confirmed the accuracy of the information in the document, which redacted the names of the accused and is no longer available to be viewed. It is alleged that the three people were not full-time employees of Cedar Hill and had not completed the required UIL or state certifications and training necessary to coach student athletes.
One of the accused is a full-time substitute teacher in Cedar Hill ISD, the document said. But according to the district’s employee handbook, substitute teachers are not classified as full-time employees.
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“Coach [Ward] is not responsible for hiring, he is not responsible for background checks,” said WL Marsaw, the attorney who is representing Ward. “Responsible for hiring are the athletic director, the principal and the director of HR.”
Warsaw said Ward plans to fight this.
“He is going to vigorously defend himself and his reputation, and he eagerly awaits reinstatement back to his position as the head football coach at Cedar Hill High School,” Marsaw said.
The UIL requires all high school coaches to be full-time employees of the school district, with limited exceptions for retired educators and student teachers to be assistant coaches in the primary team sports. Volunteer coaches must meet several requirements to be eligible.
Cedar Hill interim athletic director O.J. Kemp and interim chief of communications Kristen Escovedo did not respond to phone or email messages seeking comment.
Cedar Hill just finished a 6-5 season, losing to Killeen Harker Heights in the first round of the playoffs. This was Ward’s third season as Cedar Hill’s head coach, and he has a record of 17-18.
Ward worked as the defensive backs coach at Midlothian before coming to Cedar Hill. Ward played cornerback for the University of Miami in the 1990s and coached at Cleburne and North Mesquite before he served as Cedar Hill’s defensive backs coach from 2020-21.
This fall has been a tumultuous time for Cedar Hill ISD athletics. A grievance was filed against the school district on behalf of Melanie Benjamin after she was removed from her position as athletic director and reassigned to the role of CHISD instructional coordinator.
Last month, the Cedar Hill ISD board of trustees voted to deny her grievance, despite an overwhelming show of public support for Benjamin at a school board meeting. The district never said what the allegations were against Benjamin or why she was removed as athletic director, only providing a statement that said “under any administrator or teacher contract, any employee can be reassigned to any other position for which they are certified.”
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