UIL Committee clears former San Marcos coach
The UIL State Executive Committee on Thursday cleared former San Marcos High School Athletic Director and head football coach Mark Soto, now the head football coach and director of athletics of Judson High School in Converse, of any wrongdoing in his involvement with the handling of accusations against SMHS involving recruiting athletes.
San Marcos CISD alleged Soto had violated rules regarding the UIL Constitution of Contest Rules when the accusations were made against San Marcos. The District 27-6A Executive Committee investigation on the topic had been sent to the State Executive Committee.
The decision came down in a streamed meeting in which SEC committee members stated they could not find evidence that Soto had violated UIL Constitution and Contest Rules.
The committee meeting came as part of a now near year-long controversy surrounding the transfer of 12 students from Judson ISD, Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD and New Braunfels ISD to San Marcos CISD during the summer of 2022.
It was later discovered that 11 of the students played on a select youth football team.
San Marcos received a recommendation for a two-year ban from the playoffs by the District 27-6A District Executive Committee citing the allegations of recruiting by San Marcos.
The DEC also ruled 12 athletes to be ineligible citing they had moved for athletic purposes.
San Marcos appealed the decision, which was then sent up to the UIL State Executive Committee.
The UIL SEC originally rescinded the ban and gave San Marcos CISD three years of probation in a meeting held Oct. 3, 2022, and moved to discuss potential penalties in connection to that decision at a later date.
San Marcos head football coach and director of athletics John Walsh was given a public reprimand.
On Oct. 13, 2022, the SEC ruled that 11 SMCISD students would be ineligible to play at San Marcos for three years but would retain their eligibility if they returned to the schools they transferred from.
On Oct. 23, 2022, the SEC made their decision to give San Marcos a oneyear postseason ban for the 2023 football season, citing violations of Section 409 of the UIL Constitution of Contest Rules.
At that time, Walsh was suspended for five games, and assistant coach Lee Vallejo was suspended for two years along with three years probation due to his involvement in the case.
San Marcos CISD then alleged falsehoods and improprieties in the investigation, the information presented and the way the UIL District Executive Committee handled the process. The decision by the UIL State Executive Committee on Thursday, July 20 cleared Soto of any wrongdoing in his part in making the original allegations.
San Marcos CISD has put in an appeal to rescind the 2023 postseason ban.
The Daily Record reached out for comment from officials from the San Marcos CISD and had no reply at time of press.
