The Arizona Interscholastic Association stripped Sabino High School’s baseball team of its state title following an investigation into several violations of AIA rules.

The AIA held a special executive board meeting Tuesday to discuss the reported violations, which included recruiting violations, issues with coaching qualifications and misuse of funds. Sabercats coach Mark Chandler, the longtime boss at both Sabino and rival Sahuaro, resigned his position on Friday. Sabino plans to appeal all sanctions. A delegation from the school is scheduled to appear at the AIA’s Sept. 12 meeting.

Sabino beat Sahuarita 6-4 in May to secure its first baseball crown in 21 years. The team will forfeit all wins from last season, AIA spokesman Seth Polansky said. Sabino has been placed on probation for one year and be will be ineligible for postseason play in 2019. The 2018 bracket will be vacated, Polansky said.

MORE: Sabino rallies past Sahuarita for 3A baseball championship

TUSD recently concluded a months-long investigation into four separate allegations, district superintendent Gabriel Trujillo said in a news conference Tuesday morning. The district handed over the findings of its internal investigation to the AIA on Aug. 14.

The district was able to substantiate two of the four allegations, but didn’t find enough information to sustain the other two, Trujillo said.

The district’s investigation found that Sabino’s baseball team violated AIA rules regarding prior contact with students in baseball clinics and illegally used booster funds to pay for an additional coach, Trujillo said.

The investigation did not find proof that the team illegally recruited players from other schools or pressured players’ parents to have their children play in clinics or club teams, Trujillo said.

Trujillo declined to discuss a fifth allegation, citing student privacy laws.

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