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CHURCH HILL — The Volunteer High School football program will be on probation through the end of the 2027-2028 school year and lose valuable practice time following a TSSAA investigation into a trio of rule violations, according to documents provided upon request by the school administration.

In a letter dated April 22, 2026, via electronic mail, to Volunteer principal Greg Sturgill, TSSAA executive director Mark Reeves outlined allegations that Volunteer had violated the TSSAA sports calendar and the TSSAA recruiting rule and listed the penalties issued in response to those incidents.

The letter states, “After receiving information from another TSSAA member school, email and phone communications were initiated between the TSSAA State Office and the administration of Volunteer High School. We believe the following information can be established as factual.

1. Volunteer High School conducted organized activities with more than six players that would be considered practice, as defined in Article IV, Section 8, of the TSSAA Sports Calendar, on at least three occasions. These activities were not part of the ten days of offseason practice permitted within a fifteen-day consecutive period outlined in the TSSAA Sports Calendar.

2. A Volunteer High School student who lives with Coach (Jeremy) Wagner reached out to a Cherokee High School student and invited him to a ‘Sunday training.’ Coach Wagner is the student’s legal guardian. Coach Wagner denies having any knowledge of this invitation.

3. The Cherokee High School student and his father went to the Volunteer High School field house and met with Coach Wagner.

4. The Cherokee High School student participated in organized activities for 30-40 minutes, which would be defined as practice under the TSSAA Sports Calendar.

5. Coach Wagner contacted at least one university on behalf of the Cherokee High School student while he and his father were on the Volunteer High School campus.”

The TSSAA Guidelines for Understanding the Recruiting Rule include the guidelines below, which Reeves stated are relevant for this situation:

“To avoid the appearance of impropriety, a coach who is contacted by any student or family or individual about attending a school where he or she is the coach should inform that person that he or she needs to contact the administrative official or officials of the school who normally deal with the admission process.”

The letter states that the investigation conducted by Volunteer High School and the TSSAA office confirm that these guidelines were not followed.

“The head coach of Volunteer High School met with the student and his father at the field house. The head coach of Volunteer High School allowed the student who was not enrolled at the school to participate in organized activities with the football team.

“Article II Section 14 (Practice Rule) of the TSSAA Bylaws states: Only students who are enrolled and in regular attendance at a school may participate in practice.

“Article II, Section 17 of the TSSAA Bylaws states: Athletic recruiting is prohibited. Athletic recruiting is the use of influence on a student or the parents or guardians of a student, by any person(s) directly or indirectly associated with the school, to secure or retain a student for athletic purposes. In the event that there is a violation of this rule, there shall be a penalty against the school, and the student(s) who was the subject of the violation shall be ineligible for a minimum of one year.

“The penalty and any additional period of ineligibility beyond the one-year minimum will be determined by the Executive Director based on a consideration of the number of violations involved, the number of student-athletes involved, the nature of the violation(s), the individual(s) responsible for the violation(s), and the extent to which the violation may have been knowing, deliberate, or in reckless disregard of the provisions of this rule and the commentary that accompanies this rule.”

Reeves outlined the three primary objectives that member schools of the TSSAA attempt to achieve through their bylaws, then issued the findings and the penalties.

“After a review of the facts, the opinion of this office that there have been violations of Article II, Section 17 (Recruiting Rule), Article II, Section 14 (Practice Rule), and Article IV, Section 8 (TSSAA Sports Calendar) by the Volunteer High School football program,” Reeves wrote.

“The following penalties are being issued in response to these incidents:

• The football program shall not be permitted to have any additional off-season practice opportunities during the 2025-2026 school year. Coaches may continue to provide individual instruction to no more than 6 players per day.
• The football program will be allowed to conduct five days of offseason practice within a 15-day consecutive period during the 2026-2027 school year.
• The football program will be placed on probation through the end of the 2027-2028 school year, which will result in a $1,000 fine.”

Article V Section 4(1) of the TSSAA Constitution states “Probation to an individual sport in an athletic program shall result in a fine of $500 annually.”

Programs that are on probation remain eligible for postseason competition. Any further violations of this nature would result in additional disciplinary action, Reeves states.

In addition, he said the student who visited Volunteer High School and participated in organized activities would be ineligible to participate in football at Volunteer for 12 months if he enrolls at the school.

“Please know Volunteer High School — and Hawkins County Schools in general — takes this letter and its findings very seriously,” Sturgill said in an emailed statement.

“Under Policy No. 4.301, in fact, the Hawkins County Board of Education expressly mandates that the ‘Bylaws of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association shall regulate the operation and control of athletics’ here in Hawkins County. This helps explain why our school system — and the staff at Volunteer — have remained fully cooperative with the TSSAA, and why we will ensure Volunteer High School and its football staff members fully comply with the TSSAA bylaws and standards moving forward to ensure no such issues again arise.”

Reeves explains in the letter that Volunteer could appeal the decision to the TSSAA Board of Control at its June meeting, but school officials indicated they currently have no plans to do so.

“Hawkins County Schools wants and will always strive to have competitive sports programs across our schools and our athletic departments, but it also remains important for our coaches to at all times model behavior for our student-athletes that values ethical standards above winning scores,” Sturgill wrote.