WPIAL rules Aliquippa rising junior ineligible following transfer from North Hills

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, June 6, 2024 | 4:58 PM

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Aliquippa’s Jamar Allen, an all-conference football player who transferred from North Hills, was ruled ineligible Thursday by the WPIAL.

The WPIAL held an eligibility hearing for the rising junior and found “the transfer had some athletic intent to it,” WPIAL executive director Scott Seltzer said. The ruling left Allen ineligible for one year, but Aliquippa can appeal to the PIAA.

The 6-foot-1, 300-pound lineman is among seven transfers to Aliquippa in recent months and the first to be ruled ineligible. Five others already were granted eligibility by the WPIAL.

Seltzer said he couldn’t comment further on the board’s decision since the school requested a closed hearing.

Allen earned first-team all-conference honors in the Class 5A Northeast last year. He announced a college offer from Temple in September and added Robert Morris last month.

Allen’s hearing was one of three held by the WPIAL.

• Knoch rising junior Colt Sprankle, a transfer from Armstrong, remains ineligible for the postseason after the WPIAL denied his waiver request. Sprankle played quarterback at Armstrong.

Under PIAA rules, most transfers after 10th grade are ineligible for the postseason for one year.

• Riverview’s Landon Johnson received a period of participation waiver from the WPIAL, granting him an additional season of eligibility. Seltzer said the football player met the criteria for a waiver.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Aliquippa, Knoch, Riverview