By Richard Obert, azcentral sports

After a lawsuit against the AIA was dismissed in federal court, it could put Deer Valley’s football recruiting violation back on the agenda at the AIA Executive Board Oct. 20 meeting.
Glendale Deer Valley’s football team is sitting on top of the Division II world.

But that world could tumble depending on what happens now after a lawsuit against the AIA tied up in federal court has been dismissed.
Chuck Schmidt, AIA associate executive director, said the agenda for the Oct. 20 Executive Board meeting will be set in the next couple of weeks. And he didn’t dismiss that Deer Valley’s recruiting issue will be back on the docket.
Last February, the AIA determined that Deer Valley recruited defensive tackle Marquette Mitchell in summer 2013. After conducting a lengthy investigation, citing a Twitter post from a then assistant coach. No punishment has yet been set.
Deer Valley was set to appeal the AIA’s ruling in May, before the school’s administrators to start the 2013-14 school year – Principal Barbara Dobbs and Athletic Director John Allen – named the AIA, Schmidt and Executive Director Harold Slemmer, along with the Deer Valley Unified School District, in a lawsuit that was tied up in a federal court until recently.
Deer Valley has claimed that there was no illegal contact.
Deer Valley can still appeal this case to fight for this season, because the worst-case scenario would be that the AIA board decides to place the football team on probation and ineligible for the playoffs this season.
Last year, the AIA placed Deer Valley’s athletic program on probation after determining the football team purposefully played two players that the AIA had deemed ineligible for the season opener. The probation for the program was later lifted after Deer Valley corrective actions, and the school’s teams were able to compete in the postseason.
However, the recruitment that led to the players being declared ineligible is a separate issue for the board.