O’Fallon football coach resigns after allowing out-of-district athletes on team

UPDATE 5 P.M. - This article was updated with content from the letter of resignation Gettis submitted to the District 203 Board of Education.

Byron Gettis said Wednesday he is going to take the holiday break to consider his future since resigning as head football coach at O’Fallon Township High School.

Gettis, 43, submitted his resignation Dec. 5. Along with resigning as football coach, he stepped down from his positions as diversity coordinator and handling truancy and residency issues for the district.

He said in an interview with the Belleville News-Democrat his resignation was not related to what he described as an “unfortunate incident” this fall when an ineligible player was allowed to play on underclass teams.

But in his resignation letter to the school board, he wrote that there were two players involved and said “I appreciate the opportunity to resign for this conduct instead of being terminated.”

The letter states he told O’Fallon Township High School Superintendent Beth Shackelford that “I allowed two students to enroll at OTHS while knowing that their residency was not proper and I allowed those students to participate in OTHS football.”

Gettis pledged his cooperation with any additional investigation of the students’ residency and sports eligibility going forward.

“By submitting my resignation, I agree that I will continue to cooperate in any legal action that takes place as a result of my conduct or involving these students. I also certify that I have provided you with all of the information regarding my involvement in this or any other residency matter or student issues,” the letter states.

Shackelford said she could not comment on personnel issues.

Matt Troha, spokesman for the Illinois High School Association, said the board of directors has not taken any action against O’Fallon Township High School.

Gettis declined to name the player he referenced to in the interview but said he “rarely played” and the circumstances had “nothing to do” with the school trying to gain “a competitive advantage.”

Gettis said the incident involved his position as residency coordinator and he said he did not make sure all the requirements were fulfilled on the player.

“That wasn’t the thing that determined my resignation or anything like that,” Gettis told the News-Democrat.

“O’Fallon, the community, the school, the administration, the kids, was awesome to me and my family,” Gettis said. “I just thought it was time for me to step away from O’Fallon and just move on.”

Before taking the O’Fallon job in 2019, Gettis served as an assistant in other local football programs and was the interim head football coach at the since disbanded Lindenwood University Belleville campus. The former all-state quarterback from Cahokia High School spent eight seasons playing professional baseball including a 21-game stint with the Kansas City Royals in 2004.

After retiring from baseball, Gettis returned to football at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and McKendree University. He graduated from McKendree in 2011 with a degree in education.

Gettis said there were “a lot of things building up to” his resignation from O’Fallon.

He noted his son is in grade school and is a “pretty good athlete” and he wants to see where he goes to high school.

“That played a big part in everything, thinking about my son,” Gettis said. “Maybe I just want to be a father.”

Gettis said he may “venture into something else” but he said doesn’t know what he will do next.

Gettis replaced Brandon Joggerst as head coach in O’Fallon in 2019. His teams twice qualified for the playoffs, including an 8-2 Panthers team that was eliminated from the playoffs in the first round by conference-rival Edwardsville in 2022.

His five-season record at O’Fallon is 24-18, including the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

Gettis said he told the O’Fallon football players that coaching changes happen and that it’s best for the change to be made in the off-season.

“I just told the team to keep pushing, keep working hard,” Gettis said.

“O’Fallon has got everything it needs to be successful and they will be successful. “I enjoyed my time coaching in O’Fallon.”