PHOENIX — They won a state title and then got a big cash prize with national exposure. However, when it came time to use that money for this season, the Desert Vista High School girls’ basketball team was told that money was used elsewhere — until ABC15 asked about it.
You can’t ask for a better season than what the Desert Vista girls' basketball team did last year.
The Thunder went 28-4 in a season where they won the inaugural state open division championship. The dream season continued when ESPN called and invited them to play in a multi-state tournament at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. And just for playing, the girls were told the team would receive $5,000.
Brenda Ijiwoye is one of the parents with a front-row seat for the unforgettable season. She said for her daughter who plays point guard, it was “one of her dreams” to play on national TV.
So as the Thunder got ready to defend their title this year, they discovered that $5,000 from the ESPN invitation they hoped to use for this season’s travel, apparel and other expenses, went to all athletics teams at Desert Vista High School.
ABC15 learned Friday that the team was told something different in D.C. than what was in the contract.
Ijiwoye said she asked school leadership about it and was told, "They were going to use that money to pay off their bill."
She added that the girls had to sell candy and send email chains to raise money to get to D.C.
”If the girls did not go to DC, there would be no $5,000 so this season they start with no money and have to do fundraising,” said Ijiwoye.
That was the case until ABC15 asked Tempe Union High School District about it on Thursday night.
In a statement Friday, they said in part that the district will be transferring $5,000 to the DV girls' basketball account. They added there was verbal miscommunication from prior leadership to basketball parents regarding the payment and they “want to make this right."
Here’s the full statement:
This email is to notify you that the District will be transferring $5,000 to the DV Girl's Basketball account. We recently learned that there was verbal miscommunication from prior leadership to basketball parents regarding the $5,000 payment from PMG to DVHS for their participation in the State Champions Invitational tournament in Washington DC last April.
It is the standard practice of the District to deposit tournament money into the appropriate 'Account 11' at sites. Account 11 funds cover the items needed for athletics teams to compete - game officials, security, ticket sellers, and other game workers. Account 11 covers all athletics teams at DVHS.
In this case, the written contract that was executed between PMG and the District noted that the funds were to be provided to DVHS. There was no additional stipulation that the funds should be deposited into the Girls Basketball account, so we followed the contract and deposited the money into DV's Account 11, to offset the fees incurred by Girls Basketball throughout their season.
At this point, we understand that this was not what was communicated verbally to parents and the miscommunication subsequently allowed parents to believe that these funds were inappropriately used.
In recognition of that fact, we would like to make this right. The District will be transferring $5,000 to the Girls Basketball account today. We will ensure moving forward that these kinds of agreements are not subject to miscommunication and that clarity is provided to parents in advance of any money being received.
