Leading off today: Longtime Shenendehowa AD Chris Culnan is stepping down from the position at the end of the current school year,
The Times Union reported on Wednesday.
The news was disclosed as an agenda addendum toward the end of the scheduled board of education meeting on Tuesday.
"After much thought and consideration, I have decided to step down as the Director of Athletics at Shenendehowa," Culnan said in a statement to the paper. "I would like to thank the administration at Shen for giving me the opportunity to lead this program. I especially want to thank our student-athletes and coaches for their hard work and dedication the last 18 years.
"It has truly been an incredible experience. At this time, I need to step away to focus on my family, my son and my health." Culnan did not elaborate.
Shenendehowa has been a state power in scholastic sports during Culnan's tenure. In addition to multiple Section 2 championships, Shen teams have captured NYSPHSAA championships in baseball, boys basketball, boys volleyball, girls volleyball, and field hockey. In 2015 through '17, the school rang up a three-peat as the overall champion in the New York State Sportswriters Association's Kerr Cup All-Sport Championship.
"The Shenendehowa Athletics Department is one of the best in the state and we appreciate the work and the leadership," the district said in an announcement. "As we look to find new leadership, we will do so with our steadfast commitment to providing the highest quality experience for our student-athletes."
Veteran Baldwinsville coach Sanfilippo retiring
Carl Sanfilippo, who took the helm at Baldwinsville in 1985, says he has coached his last football game.
Sanfilippo, 70, told Syracuse.com he talked it over with his wife, Juliet, over the weekend and then made his retirement decision.
"We've been talking about it," he said. "If you're going to retire I think the sooner the better, so that the district has time to put a coach in place, so that the kids don't suffer not having somebody in place.
He finishes with 233 victories in a coaching career that began in New Mexico.
"It's hard to put into words the influence he had on shaping the lives of his players for four decades," Bees AD Chris Campolieta said. "I look forward to working with my team to properly mark this occasion, but for now, we are still processing the news."
Messy situation in Virginia
Recruiting violations are frequently presumed to be connected to private schools. However, a big story coming out of Virginia in recent days involves the takedown of a public school where players followed a coach to his new position.
It started with the original investigation into a massive wave of transfers and grew worse with the way the situation was handles. As a result, Fairfax (Va.) County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid has apologized for the way a football scandal at Hayfield Secondary School was handled, the Fairfax Times reported.
Hayfield withdrew from the football playoffs, and AD Monty Fritts has resigned. Other school administrators are expected to face scrutiny in an expanded probe. The Virginia High School League has already banned the team from the postseason for two years.
The drama began with 14 transfers who arrived with head football coach Darryl Overton from Woodbridge Freedom High School, which won two straight state championships. AT a meeting last week, the school board flagged another 17 transfers from other schools, running the total to 31 new players on the roster.
A judge struck down the original Hayfield playoff ban in response to a lawsuit by parents, and the Hawks appeared in one postseason game before withdrawing on Nov. 26 amid allegations of players being housed against VHSL rules.
Now, the superintendent said the district plans an external investigation into transfer procedures and protocols across all sports and schools. The school board is extended to authorize hiring an external law firm to review transfer practices at its Dec. 19 meeting.
