WIAA notes discretion not to punish Arrowhead in Seidl case

The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association and family of Arrowhead senior football player Tristen Seidl were back in Waukesha Circuit Court on March 3.

Their case stems from a 2023 housefire displacing the Seidl family and subsequent WIAA rejection of an extenuating circumstances waiver that would have allowed Tristen to transfer from the Kettle Moraine District to the Arrowhead Union District and play varsity football. The matter was resolved for this past fall by temporary injunction allowing Seidl to play with a Warhawks team that went on to win a WIAA state title. Since a few weeks after that final whistle at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, the Seidl family and WIAA have had two hearings in front of Judge Paul Bugenhagen Jr. on whether that temporary injunction will be made permanent.

Attorneys for both parties had been in contact since a Dec. 19 hearing, but both stated a resolution had not been reached.

Here is what to know in the ongoing case.

WIAA clarifies authority to levy punishment on Arrowhead

Twice during the March 3 hearing as well as in briefs filed ahead of it, WIAA attorney Brent W. Jacobson clarified the association's authority to levy punishment on Arrowhead should the temporary injunction be dismissed or overturned. Article I, Section 5-A-1 and 2 of the WIAA handbook gives the association the authority to forfeit all contests, adjust conference and tournament standings and return individual and team awards in the case of a player determined to be ineligible being used in a team sport. Jacobson also pointed to Section 8-A of the same Article, which reads:

"If a school declared disqualified or a student declared ineligible is permitted to participate in interscholastic competition, because of a court restraining order and/or injunction against the school or WIAA, and if such restraining order and/or injunction subsequently is voluntarily vacated, stayed reversed, or finally determined by the courts not to justify injunctive relief, one or more of the penalties outlined in Article I, Section 5-A-1) and 2) may be taken in the interest of restitution and fairness to other member schools."

It was the "may" that Jacobson drew the court's attention to both in briefs and the March 3 hearing, highlighting the discretion the WIAA would have under its rules in choosing whether to apply the punishments described under Section 5-A-1 and 2. He also went on to clarify the WIAA does not have the authority to exercise that authority until the case is permanently resolved.

Arrowhead superintendent reaffirms district's distance from case

Despite the potential ramifications to the Arrowhead Union District and it being listed as an involuntary third party in the ongoing case, superintendent Conrad Farmer reiterated in a March 3 statement the district's lack of participation.

"This matter is between the Seidl family and the WIAA. Arrowhead had no role in the family's decision to enroll their child at Arrowhead. Arrowhead had no role in the WIAA's decision to declare Tristen ineligible. Arrowhead had no role in the lawsuit the family filed. Arrowhead had no role in the judge's decision to allow Tristen to play. Arrowhead has no role, and therefore no influence, over the outcome of the case," Farmer's statement read in part. "When the WIAA says a student-athlete cannot participate in sports, we abide by that decision. When a judge rules that a student-athlete is eligible to participate, we abide by that decision. Once the judge said Tristen could play, he was given the same opportunity as any other student-athlete participating in one of our sports."

VOTE NOW: Vote for high school athlete of the week, presented by Piggly Wiggly

Arrowhead athletic director Ryan Mangan and high school principal Adam Kurth attended a Sept. 5, 2025, hearing on the case, with Kurth reading a letter from Farmer into the record in support of Tristen while acknowledging the difficult situation the ongoing litigation placed them in. Both appeared without legal representation at that hearing, and Arrowhead has not taken any subsequent steps to have its interests defended as the case has continued. Farmer's statement March 3 continued to clarify that would not change.

"We were not going to make decisions based on what might happen down the road. We teach our students to work hard, take direction, conduct yourself as a role model, be prepared, treat yourself and others with dignity, treat your opponent with respect, and put the team first. Tristen demonstrated those qualities, so he deserved to play. Simply put, the case is not about Arrowhead. The family and the WIAA are the involved entities. Arrowhead just happened to be the district into which the family moved," Farmer's statement concluded.

Judge Bugenhagen's Sept. 5, 2025, temporary injunction ruling removed requested relief by the Seidl family on behalf of Arrowhead from any future WIAA punishment, and the matter has not been ruled upon by the court since.

Follow-up hearing scheduled for June

The parties will reconvene June 2 after supplementary materials are filed on each party's arguments against the case being moot with Tristen's senior season concluded.