A high school football game broadcast on ESPN last Sunday involved highly ranked IMG Academy from Florida and Bishop Sycamore of Columbus, Ohio. IMG Academy lived up to its billing with a 58-0 victory, but afterward, it was learned that Bishop Sycamore has little or no credentials. The televised game was the initial offering on ESPN’s GEICO ESPN High School Football Kickoff.

Adding to that, it also appears that Bishop Sycamore had a football game scheduled and played on Friday, around 48 hours before the Sunday contest (against Sto-Rox of McKees Rocks, Pa.). Close scheduling is something that is never done in high school athletics, and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has ordered an investigation into the situation.

Ohio Education Department records list Bishop Sycamore as a private school in Columbus, with an address at 3599 Chiller Lane, which is the location of Resolute Athletic Complex, an indoor sports training facility. Attempts to reach the complex suggested that the location is not used as a school.

Bishop Sycamore has scheduled games against a number of top-ranked programs, but where they get their athletes is a question being investigated by state officials. The current situation resembles a nearly identical scheme from three years ago, when a school called Christians of Faith Academy emerged in Columbus with its only known public attention focused on its football team. That school also did not appear to have a legitimate physical address, and its head coach, Roy Johnson, was also the coach at Bishop Sycamore before he was fired earlier this week. Investigators have said that is appears to be “the exact same scam. They simply changed the name."

Gov. DeWine issued a statement that read in part, “Like many Ohioans, I am concerned by the recent reports and questions raised about Bishop Sycamore. While this weekend’s football game brought concerns about the health and safety of players, it also raised red flags about the school’s operations."

The governor added, "Schools like Bishop Sycamore have an obligation under Ohio law to meet certain minimum standards. Whether Bishop Sycamore meets these standards is not clear. I have asked the Ohio Department of Education to conduct an investigation into Bishop Sycamore to ensure compliance with Ohio law and to ensure the school is providing the educational opportunities Ohio students deserve."