Court Opinion

ID: 9540489
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 16:16:36.128611+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:59:52.785989
License: Public Domain

OPINION
BAKER, Chief Judge.
Valerie Watson is a single mother supporting three children and one grandchild. Over the course of two years, her salary was nearly halved and her work hours drastically curtailed because of the economic downturn experienced by the RV industry. As a result, she was unable to make mortgage payments and received a notice of foreclosure. Valerie decided to move to South Bend from Elkhart because she was unable to locate a suitable home in Elkhart that would rent to her and because she had family members in South Bend who were able to help her care for the children. The IHSAA, however, found Valerie's daughter, Jasmine, ineligible to play for South Bend Washington High School's basketball team because it concluded that the move and transfer occurred primarily for athletic reasons and because of improper undue influence. The trial court found that the IHSAA acted arbitrarily and capriciously and entered a preliminary injunction prohibiting the IHSAA from enforcing its ineligibility decision. We find that the trial court did not err by entering the injunction.
Appellant-defendant Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc. (IHSAA), appeals the trial court's order entering a preliminary injunction in favor of appel-lees-plaintiffs Jasmine S. Watson, individually and by and through her mother, Valerie K. Watson. IHSAA argues that the trial court erred by finding that the Wat-sons are likely to succeed on the merits of *744their claim and by granting an overbroad injunction. Finding no error, we affirm.
FACTS
The Move to South Bend
Sometime in 2003 or 2004, the Watsons moved to Elkhart. Jasmine attended Elk-hart Memorial High School for her freshman (2005-06), sophomore (2006-07), and junior (2007-08) years, and played for the high school basketball team all three years. She is a highly talented basketball player: she was a junior Indiana All-Star, was named to the 2009 All-Star team, and received recruiting inquiries and letters from multiple NCAA Division I programs.
In September 2007, Valerie, Jasmine's mother, received notice from her employer that her hours would be reduced such that she would work only four days per week and six hours per day. This decrease caused a substantial reduction in Valerie's wages and net income. In March 2008, Valerie's wages were garnished because of a judgment that had been entered against her. As a result of the decrease in her income and the garnishment, Valerie was unable to make timely mortgage payments on the family home. In June 2008, Valerie received a foreclosure complaint from her mortgage company. Valerie listed the home for sale in July 2008; consequently, Valerie and her family could have remained in the residence rent-free until November 2008 if it did not sell.
Valerie decided to begin looking for another place to live in the summer of 2008 because, if it turned out that they would have to change school districts, she did not want her children to have to change schools in the middle of the school year. She looked at multiple homes in Elkhart but was either rejected because of her credit rating or concluded that the properties were too expensive, too small, or located in areas she considered to be unsafe.
Larry Fielstra, Jasmine's basketball coach at Elkhart Memorial, learned that Valerie was having a hard time locating a suitable home in Elkhart. Fielstra offered her assistance in locating housing in Elk-hart, including contacting multiple landlords and real estate agents. Fielstra referred Valerie to one property where he had arranged for the owner to waive the security deposit and offer it at a reduced rent amount, but Valerie rejected the property because it was located next to a liquor store. When it became clear that Valerie was looking beyond Elkhart for housing, Fielstra offered to provide transportation to Jasmine so that she could live with her family outside of Elkhart but still attend Elkhart Memorial.
Valerie eventually expanded her search to South Bend, which is where she grew up and where her extended family lived. On July 29, 2008, Valerie signed a six-month lease for a home on the southwest side of South Bend, in the South Bend Washington High School (Washington) district.
The IHSAA
The TIHSAA is a nonprofit corporation whose members include public and private high schools in Indiana. The organization's purpose is "to encourage, regulate and give direction to wholesome, amateur, interschool athletic competition between the schools who are members." Appellant's App. p. 559-60. To achie.ve these ends, the IHSAA has adopted rules governing interscholastic competition. Washington and Elkhart Memorial are both member schools of the IHSAA and are subject to the IHSAA competition and eligibility rules.
Among IHSAA's eligibility rules are Rule 19 (the Transfer Rule) and Rule 20 (the Undue Influence Rule). Among other things, the Transfer Rule provides that *745students who transfer from one school to another with an accompanying change of residence are generally immediately eligible to participate in varsity sports. If, however, a student transfers for "primarily athletic reasons" or as a result of undue influence-even if the student's family has changed residences-the student will be ineligible to participate in interschool athletics for 865 days following enrollment at the new school. Id. at 594. The purpose of this rule is to "preserve the integrity of interschool athletics and to prevent or minimize recruiting, proselytizing and school 'jumping' for athletic reasons, regardless of cireumstances. . .." Id.
The Undue Influence Rule prohibits the "use of undue influence by any person or persons to secure or to retain a student, or to secure or to retain one or both of the parents or guardians of a student as residents...." Id. at 598. The IHSAA does not define "undue influence," but identifies a number of examples of prohibited inducements to transfer:
a. offer or acceptance of money or other valuable consideration;
b. reduction or remission of regular tuition;
c. waiving the legal requirements of transfers;
d. offer or acceptance of board, room or clothing;
e. offer or acceptance of remuneration for work in excess of amount regularly paid for such service;
free transportation;
g. transportation by a coach, principal, teacher or school official;
h. offer or acceptance of residence with coach, principal, teacher or school official;
i. free rent or reduced rent for parents;
j. offer or payment of moving expenses of parents;
k. any inducement to get parents or student to enroll in a particular school or to induce parents to change residence for athletic reasons.
Id.
The Dispute
Under the IHSAA rules, a student who transfers from one member school to another must complete an IHSAA Athletic Transfer Report to be eligible to participate in athletics. In early August 2008, Valerie completed a transfer report for Jasmine, requesting that the transfer be approved based on the family's change of residence. The request was sent to Elk-hart Memorial for input and approval, but because Elkhart Memorial coaches believed that the transfer was based on athletic reasons and undue influence, Elkhart Memorial refused to approve Jasmine's request for full eligibility.
The IHSAA Assistant Commissioner reviewed and investigated Jasmine's transfer request, finding Jasmine ineligible pursuant to the Transfer Rule. He did not note any violation of the Undue Influence Rule. Jasmine and Valerie appealed the decision and requested a hearing before the IHSAA Review Committee.
On August 9, 2008, the THSAA Review Committee held an administrative hearing on Jasmine's request for full eligibility for the 2008-09 basketball season-her senior year of high school. The IHSAA and the Watsons presented multiple witnesses, with the ITHSAA's witnesses testifying that they believed the school district transfer had occurred primarily for athletic reasons and the Watsons' witnesses refuting that version of events.
Specifically, Fielstra testified for the IHSAA, explaining that he met with Jas*746mine and Valerie on July 18, 2008, and at the meeting Valerie commented that one of the reasons Jasmine was leaving Elk-hart Memorial was because he did not push her hard enough and stated that she had already talked with Washington coaches about the transfer,. Furthermore, Fielstra testified that in the spring of 2008, he had heard that Valerie was angry with Elkhart Memorial and that Jasmine's grandmother had told someone that the family was looking for another place for Jasmine to play basketball. Multiple witnesses also testified that they had heard that the Washington coaches were pursuing Jasmine to play basketball at Washington. Fielstra testified that he was upset that Jasmine had transferred to Washington and also admitted that he would not have opposed Jasmine's transfer request if she had transferred to any other high school in South Bend.
Jasmine testified that she had not been reeruited by Washington coaches. She also stated that she was upset about the move to South Bend because she did not want to leave her friends and teammates right before her senior year. Had it been her choice, Jasmine stated that she would have preferred the family to remain in Elkhart. An Elkhart Memorial assistant basketball coach had offered to let Jasmine live with her for the school year but Jasmine stated she declined because even though she wanted to continue attending Elkhart Memorial, it was more important to her to live with her family. Valerie also testified that she had never been solicited by any Washington coaches. She stated that it was her decision to move to South Bend and that she made the decision based on financial and family reasons. In South Bend, she was able to obtain help from nearby extended family, who transported the children to school and after school activities. The Washington coaches testified and denied recruiting Jasmine to attend their school.
On October 17, 2008, the Review Committee issued a written decision upholding the Commissioner's determination that Jasmine was ineligible for 365 days from the date of her enrollment. The Committee concluded that the move to South Bend had violated the Transfer Rule because it was done primarily for athletic reasons or was the result of undue influence. Furthermore, the Committee determined that there had been a violation of the Undue Influence Rule when one of the Washington basketball coaches encouraged Jasmine to leave Elkhart Memorial and transfer to Washington.
On November 17, 2008, the Watsons filed a complaint seeking an injunction prohibiting the IHSAA from enforcing its October 17 decision. The trial court held an evidentiary hearing on December 16, 2008, at which it heard testimony from multiple witnesses. On December 19, 2008, the trial court granted a preliminary injunetion, finding and concluding, in relevant part, as follows:
27. Valerie has been employed for twenty years by Irving Shade, Elkhart, Indiana, which makes doors for the RV industry. During 2006, her income was $42,714 and $35,052 in 2007. Her income in 2008 should be approximately $28,000. She is currently on temporary lay off [sic] from her employer until early January. She is only working three days per week and grossing about $300.00 per week; she has applied for unemployment compensation to supplement her income.
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32. Valerie's husband ... has been incarcerated in prison since 2006, making Valerie the only source of income for her family.
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39. When Valerie was not able to find suitable housing for her family's needs in the Elkhart area, she expanded her housing search into the South Bend area in early July.
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45. During the month of July 2008, Jasmine spent most of her time in Indianapolis with her basketball teammates .. This team was coached by Kevin Merriweather, a local Indianapolis high school coach.
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47. Jasmine never mentioned to Coach Merriweather in July of 2008 that she would be transferring to Washington High School.
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49. During the month of July 2008, Valerie [ ] continued to look at houses in both the Elkhart and South Bend areas.
50. .... She estimates that she either drove by or personally looked at approximately 30 houses in the South Bend area.
51. Several of the houses which she looked at were [in other school districts in South Bend].
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58. The Watson home [in South Bend] is a five bedroom place; each of the children and [Valerie] have their own bedrooms. Additionally, Valerie['s] older daughter has moved into the home to take care of her child, who is Valerie's grandchild.
59. The home ... was not only large enough for her family, but was within her price range.
60. Valerie ... grew up in the South Bend area and most of her family still lives in South Bend. She has no family members in Elkhart.
61. Her family ... has been available to take Valerie's children to school in the morning.... Valerie is required to be at her job at Irving Shade at 5:00 in the morning. Therefore, she has to leave for work several hours before her children had to be at school.
62. Valerie's children, including Jasmine, had attendance or tardy problems while attending Elkhart Schools.
63. Her children have not had similar attendance or tardy problems this semester while attending South Bend schools.
64. Valerie's two other children are heavily involved in various sports, requiring her to rely on her extended family in the South Bend area to assist her in transporting them to and from practices and various games.
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80. Valerie testified that Jasmine would have attended [one of the other three South Bend high schools] if she had been able to find a home in ... those school districts.
81. Valerie further testified that she had never been solicited by any coaches or officials at Washington [] to transfer from Elkhart Memorial to Washington.
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91. .... It was Jasmine's own desire to stay with Elkhart Memorial and her teammates, but her mother made the decision to move to South Bend for economic and family reasons.
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96. This Court finds that Paragraph 5 (Pages 6-10) of [the IHSAA Review Committee's] Findings, dealing with "information" developed by Assistant Commissioner Bobby Cox during his investigation, contains numerous statements based on hearsay, disputed evidence or false assumptions....
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99. In Finding 22, the Committee took notice of 1.C. 20-26-13-2(8), which provides that a student shall have senior rights and is permitted to complete school at the school where the student completed her lith grade. The Committee . took notice that Jasmine could have continued at Elkhart Memorial for her senior year, despite her move to South Bend. This court finds that this Finding disregards the transportation problems that would have been experienced by Valerie with Jasmine at Elkhart Memorial and Valerie's two other children at [a middle school] in South Bend.
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117. This Court acknowledges that IHSAA Findings 25-87 were supported by testimony from the IHSAA witnesses at the October 9th hearing before the Review Committee. Nevertheless, as previously noted by this Court, many of those findings are based on hearsay, double hearsay, conflicting testimony or overreaching assumptions. The IHSAA failed to call a number of witnesses to substantiate the hearsay and double hearsay ... statements to support its claims of undue influence or athletic motives on the part of the Watson family.
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119. .... [The substantive probative evidence of record indicates that Valerie [] moved her family to South Bend for economic and family reasons, not because of any recruitment efforts allegedly made by [the Washington coach]. The timing of Valerie['s] move of her family to South Bend occurred within months after being served with a foreclosure lawsuit, which is the precipitating event in this case, caused by the reduction in her income.
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121. This Court further finds that the IHSAA has failed to prove by substantive probative evidence that [Valerie] moved her family to South Bend for primarily athletic reasons. As stated above, the primary reasons for [Valerie's] move to South Bend were economic and family reasons, not athletic ones.
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124. Since the substantive and probative evidence of record indicates that the primary reasons for the Watsons' move to South Bend were for economic and family reasons, the Court considers the above statements by the Watsons regarding the Elkhart Memorial basketball program as more in the nature of complaints that are often typical of many parents whose children play sports on any level, including high school sports.
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126. .... [TJhis Court finds that the TIHSAA ignored the attempts by Elkhart Memorial's coaching staff to retain Jasmine, by efforts to find housing for her in the Elkhart area ... and by Coach Price's offer of housing to Jasmine.... The IHSAA also ignored Coach Fiels-*749tra's offer to provide transportation to Jasmine while she lived at Coach Price's house.
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128. .... The Committee ... claims that Jasmine's school transfer was not mandated here, because she could have continued to attend Elkhart Memorial, even though she would have been living in South Bend.
129. The IHSAA disregarded the evidence of record of the difficulties that this arrangement would have imposed on Valerie. ... If Jasmine continued to attend Elkhart Memorial, her mother would have had to transport her to and from high school, including basketball and track practices and games, early in the morning and later in the evening. 130. .... This situation would have been an added burden on a single mother. It would have required her on some days to simultaneously be in Elkhart and South Bend to transport Jasmine and the other children and/or attend their school or athletic events.
131. .... [T)he IHSAA notes that Jasmine could have remained in her Elk-hart home, rent free, until November of 2008. ...
182. The IHSAA also disregarded the substantive, probative evidence of record of Valerie{'s] testimony that she did not want to move her children mid-semester and that she needed help with transporting her children to and from school.
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138. The essence of the IHSAA's conclusion is their questioning of Valerie['s] inability to find a satisfactory rental unit in Elkhart. The Committee found that a three-bedroom unit would have sufficed instead of the four bedroom home apartment being sought by Valerie [ ]. It also questioned the failure of Valerie to accept the illegal assistance offered by Coach ....
189. The IHSAA points to no Rule that would have required Valerie [] to look at a minimum number of houses in the Elkhart community before she would be allowed to look at houses in any other school district. Her testimony indicated that she physically looked at three houses, drove by ten, and also considered 15-20 homes in Elkhart. ... The IHSAA's claim that she could have looked at a three-bedroom unit ignores the fact that she was not only raising her three children, but also a grandchild.... The Committee's decision, in this respect, presupposes that it knows what the best living arrangements are for the Watson family. The IHSAA's conclusion also ignores the fact that the Watsons had been living in a six-bedroom home at the time of the foreclosure.
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141. The IHSAA's Conclusion that "nothing" required Jasmine to leave Elkhart Memorial, unless she wanted the Washington basketball team to beat Elkhart Memorial, is not supported by substantive, probative evidence of record, and is arbitrary and capricious. Jasmine wanted to stay with her mother and her family. Jasmine ... did not make the decision to move her family to south Bend. The decision was made by Valerie, acting in her capacity as a parent, doing what she believed was best for her family's needs, financial and otherwise.
Id. at 3-49. The trial court found in the Watsons' favor and issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the IHSAA from holding Jasmine ineligible during the 2008-09 school year. The IHSAA now appeals.
*750DISCUSSION AND DECISION
I. Mootness
Although the parties do not raise the issue, it is likely that many readers will wonder why this matter is anything other than moot, given that the 2008-09 basketball season concluded months ago and Jasmine has since graduated from high school. This court has explained the mootness doctrine as follows:
An issue becomes moot when it is no longer live and the parties lack a legally cognizable interest in the outcome or when no effective relief can be rendered to the parties. When the principal questions in issue have ceased to be matters of real controversy between the parties, the errors assigned become moot questions and the court will not retain jurisdiction to decide them. An actual controversy must exist at all stages of the appellate review, and if a case becomes moot at any stage, then the case is remanded with instructions to dismiss.
IHSAA, Inc. v. Durham, 748 N.E.2d 404, 410-11 (Ind.Ct.App.2001) (internal citations omitted).
Initially, we observe that the IHSAA filed a counterclaim against the Watsons for damages-specifically, attorney fees-sustained as a result of wrongful enjoin-der. That claim has yet to be resolved. Furthermore, it is possible that if the preliminary injunction were reversed, the IHSAA could seek to apply its Restitution Rule, which "allows the IHSAA to make the school [Washington] forfeit victories, team awards, and funds received from a tournament if it has been determined that an ineligible student athlete has competed for that school." Id. at 410. For that reason as well, therefore, this matter is not moot.
And in any event, it is well established that "an otherwise moot case may be decided on the merits if the case involves a question of great public interest." Id. at 412. The Durham court explained that high school athletics often involve issues of great public importance:
... [The public interest exception] applies to the instant case because the issue involves children and education, matters that are considered of great public concern, and our court has previously held that a challenge to an IHSAA eligibility rule is an issue of substantial public interest. See IHSAA v. Raike, 164 Ind.App. 169, 329 N.E.2d 66, 71 n. 3 (1975). ...
While at first glance high school ath-leties may not seem to be of great public importance, according to the IHSAA, over 160,000 students statewide participate in sports under the IHSAA eligibility rules. Thus, this issue touches many in our state. Further, the issue of eligibility when a student transfers schools has arisen several times and has been the subject of much litigation. See also IHSAA v. Carlberg, 694 N.E.2d 222, 228 (Ind.1997), reh'g denied (recognizing the integral role athletics play in our state constitutionally-mandated system of ed-ueation} ....
Id. Moreover, the specific issue of a family being forced to relocate because of financial pressures is very likely to recur. Therefore, even if the issue herein were moot, we would decide the merits under the public interest exception to the mootness doctrine.
II. Standard of Review
Durham also stemmed from a preliminary injunction issued by a trial court that prohibited the IHSAA from enforcing an eligibility decision. The court explained the applicable standard of review as follows:
*751The IHSAA asserts that the trial court's findings were clearly erroneous. In this case, the trial court issued an injunction to prevent the IHSAA from enforcing its ruling against [the student]. When we review an injunction, we apply a deferential standard of review. The grant or denial of an injunetion is discretionary, and we will not reverse unless the trial court's action was arbitrary or constituted a clear abuse of discretion. An abuse of discretion occurs when the trial court's decision is clearly against the logic and ef-feet of the facts and circumstances or if the trial court misinterprets the law.
When the trial court granted the injunction in this case, it issued findings of fact and conclusions. Thus, to determine if the trial court abused its discretion, we must review these findings and conclusions. Our review is two-tiered. First, we must determine whether the evidence supports the findings, and then, whether the findings support the judgment. We will reverse a trial court's findings only if they are clearly erroneous. The findings are erroneous only when the record leaves us with a firm conviction that a mistake has been made.
Id. (internal citations omitted). In determining whether the trial court erred by granting a preliminary injunction, we will not weigh conflicting evidence, focusing only on that evidence which supports the trial court's findings, conclusions, and orders. Wells v. Auberry, 429 N.E.2d 679, 682 (Ind.Ct.App.1982).
In reviewing the IHSAA's decision, the trial court was to apply an "arbitrary and capricious" standard of review:
In [IHSAA v. Carlberg, 694 N.E.2d 222 (Ind.1997) ], our supreme court delineated how a trial court should review an administrative ruling made by the IHSAA. Although the IHSAA is a voluntary association, the court held that student challenges to IHSAA decisions are subject to judicial review. Id. at 230. The court reasoned that student athletes in public schools do not voluntarily subject themselves to IHSAA rules, and students have no voice in rules and leadership of the IHSAA. Id. The court then determined that IHSAA decisions are analogous to government agency decisions and, hence, adopted the "arbitrary and capricious" standard of review used when courts review government agency action. Id. at 281. The arbitrary and capricious standard of review is narrow, and a court may not substitute its judgment for the judgment of the IHSAA. Id. at 288. "The rule or decision will be found to be arbitrary and capricious 'only where it is willful and unreasonable, without consideration and in disregard of the facts or cireum-stances in the case, or without some basis which would lead a reasonable and honest person to the same conclusion.'" Id. (quoting Dep't of Natural Res. v. Ind. Coal Council Inc., 542 N.E.2d 1000, 1007 (Ind.1989), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 1078, 110 S.Ct. 1130, 107 L.Ed.2d 1036 (1990)).
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Thus, we hold that trial courts may determine whether the denial of a hardship exception in a particular case was the result of arbitrary and capricious action by the IHSAA. In this case, the trial court did not fail to give weight to the IHSAA's broad discretion, as the IHSAA alleges. Rather, in rendering its decision that the IHSAA acted arbitrarily and capriciously, the trial court looked at the IHSAA's particular decision with respect to [the student], applied the appropriate standard, and concluded that the IHSAA's conduct *752rose to the level of willful and unreasonable decisionmaking that was in disregard of the facts and cireumstances before it. For this, the trial court was well within its discretion.
Durham, 748 N.E.2d at 413-14. Additionally, we emphasize that, although in many administrative law cases the trial court issues its ruling purely on the paper record from the ageney proceeding, in this case, the trial court held an evidentiary hearing at which multiple witnesses testified and evidence was introduced.1 We are not in a position to second-guess the trial court's assessment of witness eredibility, and will not do so.
III. The Injunction: IAikelihood of Success on the Merits
To obtain a preliminary injunction, the movant must establish the following elements by a preponderance of the evidence: (1) a reasonable likelihood of sue-cess at trial; (2) the remedies at law are inadequate; (3) the threatened injury to the movant outweighs the potential harm to the nonmovant from the issuance of an injunetion; and (4) the public interest would not be disserved by granting the requested injunction. Central Ind. Podiatry, P.C. v. Krueger, 882 N.E.2d 723, 727 (Ind.2008). The plaintiff bears the burden of proving the first three elements, while the fourth is within the trial court's reasonable discretion. Whiteco Indus., Inc. v. Nickolick, 549 N.E.2d 396, 397 (Ind.Ct.App.1990).
In this case, the IHSAA challenges the trial court's findings only with respect to the first element-reasonable likelihood of success at trial, A party seeking a preliminary injunetion must establish a prima facie case at the hearing. Avemco Ins. Co. v. State ex rel. McCarty, 812 N.E.2d 108, 118 (Ind.Ct.App.2004). The movant need not establish that he is entitled to relief as a matter of law, nor must he prove and plead a case that would entitle him to relief upon the merits. Id. Thus, in reviewing the trial court's decision, we must only determine "whether the likelihood of success is so improbable as to render the trial court's determination erroneous as a matter of law." Id.
A. Hearsay Evidence
The trial court found that much of the "evidence" relied upon by the IHSAA in finding Jasmine to be ineligible was unsubstantiated hearsay and double hearsay. For example, the IHSAA relied on Coach Fielstra's statements that another basketball coach from a different school told Fielstra that one of Jasmine's grandmothers told him (the other coach) that the family was looking for another school for Jasmine because she was not getting the ball enough at Elkhart Memorial Appellant's App. p. 22. The other coach did not testify at the hearing, so the trial court found this evidence to be unsubstantiated double hearsay.
*753The IHSAA argues that hearsay evidence is admissible during administrative proceedings and, in any event, no hearsay objections were raised to any of this evidence at the hearing. Thus, the IHSAA insists that it was erroneous for the trial court to discount the evidence on that basis. As South Bend points out, however, the "[flailure to object to the admission of hearsay may waive the right to challenge the evidence as inadmissible on appeal, but the failure to object does not cure incompetent evidence or obviate an administrative agency's obligation to reach a determination based on the substantial evidence." Appellee-Intervenor's Br. p. 29. The trial court did not find this evidence to be inadmissible, it evaluated the evidence and found it to be unsubstantiated and non-probative, which was well within its discretion.2 The lack of an objection during the hearing does not prohibit the trial court from reaching such a conclusion.
B. Undue Influence
The trial court found that the IHSAA acted arbitrarily and capriciously by finding that Jasmine was ineligible based on alleged violations of the Undue Influence Rule. In reaching its conclusion, the IHSAA relied on the following evidence:
® Elkhart Memorial officials' contention "that there has been a history of recruitment by [] Washington." Appellant's App. p. 704.
eA statement allegedly made in May 2008 by a Washington coach to "several area coaches"-who did not testify at the hearing-that Washington would be getting Jasmine and two or three players from Michigan City High School. The Washington coach "emphatically denied" making those statements. Id.
Fielstra's testimony about a May 27, 2008, conversation he allegedly had with Jasmine in which she told Fielstra that whenever she went to the center run by Washington Coach Mo Scott, Seott always showed Jasmine his championship ring, saying that if she wanted one, she would have to come to play for his team at Washington. Jasmine denied that she made those statements to Fielstra and she and Scott both deny that any such conversations occurred.
e An Elkhart Memorial assistant track coach testified that Valerie told her that Washington was trying to recruit Jasmine to come play for its basketball team. Valerie denied making such statements.
® Testimony from an Elkhart Memorial teammate of Jasmine, who saw Coach Seott talking with Jasmine on several occasions to encourage her to play for Washington. The teammate, however, did not hear every conversation, and Jasmine and Coach Seott both denied that any recruiting occurred.
As noted above, the Undue Influence Rule prohibits the "use of undue influence by any person or persons to secure or to *754retain a student, or to secure or to retain one or both of the parents or guardians of a student as residents...." Id. at 598. The Rule identifies a number of examples of prohibited inducements to transfer:
a. offer or acceptance of money or other valuable consideration;
b. reduction or remission of regular tuition;
c. waiving the legal requirements of transfers;
d. offer or acceptance of board, room or elothing;
e. offer or acceptance of remuneration for work in excess of amount regularly paid for such service;
f. free transportation;
g. transportation by a coach, principal, teacher or school official;
h. offer or acceptance of residence with coach, principal, teacher or school official;
i. free rent or reduced rent for parents;
j. offer or payment of moving expenses of parents;
k. any inducement to get parents or student to enroll in a particular school or to induce parents to change residence for athletic reasons.
Td.
Even if, for argument's sake, we were to take all of the IHSAA's evidence at face value, all that is established is that a number of conversations took place in which one or more Washington coaches encouraged Jasmine to think about transferring to Washington. No illicit offers were made, no bribes extended, no inducements made whatsoever aside from some friendly boasting about a championship rings.3 We cannot conclude that any of this rises to the level of the "undue influence" prohibit, ed by the above rule.
The same cannot be said, however, for Elkhart Memorial's staff, It is undisputed that Coach Fielstra found a home in Elk-hart at a reduced rent rate for the Wat-sons. It is also undisputed that an Elk-hart Memorial assistant basketball coach offered to let Jasmine live with her so that she could continue to attend Elkhart Memorial after her family moved to South Bend. Furthermore, it is undisputed that Coach Fielstra offered to provide transportation to enable Jasmine to attend Elk-hart Memorial after her family moved to South Bend.
This conduct unquestionably falls within the prohibited conduct outlined by the Undue Influence Rule. Yet the IHSAA highlighted these instances as evidence that Valerie's decision to move and transfer her children to the South Bend school system was motivated by athletic reasons.4 In other words, the Watsons had ample op*755portunities to accept prohibited favors from the Elkhart Memorial staff so that Jasmine could remain at Elkhart Memorial; because they declined to do so, the move and transfer must have been motivated by athletic reasons. The trial court found that the THSAA's inconsistent application of the Undue Influence Rule rendered its decision arbitrary and capricious.
On appeal, the IHSAA argues that the conduct of Elkhart Memorial officials is irrelevant to our disposition herein: "[the issue of Washington or Elkhart Memorial's violation of the Undue Influence Rule is not before this Court, and therefore, there is no issue of inconsistent application of the Rule." Appellant's Br. p. 40. We would be inclined to agree, except for the fact that in its eligibility decision, the IHSAA explicitly found that Coach Scott had violated the Undue Influence Rule and ignored the far more egregious conduct of Elkhart Memorial officials If, as the IHSAA contends, "Jasmine's case [only] involves application of the Undue Influence Rule to the student involved," id. at 39 (emphasis added), then there was no reason for the IHSAA to have found that Coach Seott violated the Rule as well. Under these cireumstances, we find that the trial court was well within its discretion to conclude that the IHSAA acted arbitrarily and capriciously in finding Jasmine ineligible pursuant to the Undue Influence Rule.
C. Transfer Rule
The IHSAA contends that the trial court erred by finding that the IHSAA acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it declared Jasmine ineligible pursuant to the Transfer Rule. The trial court found, essentially, that the Watsons moved because of Valerie's financial difficulties and that they moved to South Bend because Valerie was unable to find suitable housing in Elk-hart and wanted to be closer to her extended family so that they could provide assistance with the children.
For argument's sake, we will take the IHSAA's evidence, including the unsubstantiated hearsay and double hearsay, at face value. We will assume that Valerie and/or Jasmine had expressed dissatisfaction with Jasmine's experience on the Elk-hart Memorial team. We will assume that the Washington coaches spoke to Jasmine on multiple cccasions, encouraging her to transfer. We will even assume that when Valerie learned that she would have to move, she began looking at homes in South Bend contemporaneously with-or even before-homes in Elkhart.
Taking all of that into account, it would behoove us to take a metaphorical step back and observe the forest, rather than the trees. Over the course of two years, Valerie-a single mother supporting three children and one grandehild-had a salary that was nearly halved and a work schedule that was drastically curtailed because of our struggling economy. She struggled to pay her bills, began using food stamps, and, finally, stopped making regular mortgage payments. She received a notice of foreclosure in the summertime. Though she could have remained in the home for several more months, she chose to move so that her children would not have to be uprooted in the middle of the school year. She searched for a suitable home in Elk-hart but was unable to find one that would accept her as a tenant with a low credit rating. She also searched in South Bend and finally found a home that was big enough, in a safe location, within her price *756range, and close enough to her extended family that they could lend much needed support to the struggling family.
And what does the IHSAA believe she should have done instead? Among other things, the IHSAA seems to have concluded that the better course for Valerie would have been to have: (1) remained in her foreclosed home until she was kicked out, presumably to give herself a longer period of time to find a home in Elkhart, notwithstanding the risk she was running that her children would have had to transfer schools in the middle of the school year; (2) settled for a home in Elkhart that was too small, too expensive, or situated right next to a liquor store; (8) permitted her teenage daughter to live with her basketball coach, in another town; (4) drastically rearranged her life and minimized the needs of her other children, her grandchild, and herself, spending her precious free time driving Jasmine to and from a school located in another town; and/or (5) overlooked the ready, willing, and able family members located in South Bend who were able to provide much needed assistance to the Watsons.
The standard that the THSAA applied to the Watsons was unreasonable, untenable, and unrealistic. Even if we assumed all of the IHSAA's evidence to be true, we cannot find that the trial court erred by concluding that the evidence in the record does not, in any way, establish that this move occurred for primarily athletic reasons. It is certainly possible that athletics played a role, but to say that athletics played a primary role is to ignore and disregard the evidence in the record that this family was struggling and that Valerie did what she believed to be the best thing for her children. The IHSAA found Valerie's decision to be "unusual." Appellant's App. p. 711. Perhaps it was, but only because she found herself in unusually trying circumstances.
We find that the record amply supports the trial court's conclusions that the IHSAA's conduct rose to the level of willful and unreasonable decision-making that was in disregard of the facts and cireum-stances before it and that, consequently, it acted arbitrarily and capriciously. Therefore, the trial court did not err by finding that the Watsons established a likelihood of success on the merits and entering a preliminary injunction prohibiting the enforcement of the ineligibility decision.
IV. The Injunction: Breadth
The IHSAA also argues that even if the injunction was properly entered, it was overbroad. The injunction states, in relevant part, as follows:
WHEREFORE IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED by this Court that the Plaintiffs' request for in-juncetive relief is GRANTED and that the [IHSAA] and its agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and all persons in active concert with the same, are hereby restrained and enjoined, pending the final determination of this action, from holding Jasmine [ ] ineligible under IHSAA Rule 19-5, and from holding her ineligible from playing interscholastic varsity athletics at [] Washington during the 2008-2009 school year.
* o* o*
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED by this Court that the [IHSAA] and its agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and all persons in active concert with the same, are hereby restrained and enjoined, pending the final determination of this action, from seeking any other direct or indirect means to accomplish its goal by attempting intimidation, *757threats, penalties or procedures in such ways including, but not limited to:
(1) Directly or indirectly threatening to stop or cancel regular season play, sectional, regional or state championship basketball tournaments if Jasmine [] does not voluntarily dismiss or voluntarily vacate any injunction in her favor;
(2) Any direct or indirect actions or threats or penalties against [Washington], as the receiving school, for this or other matters related directly or indirectly to this matter, in a manner which is an attempt to have said school suggest the dismissal or vacating of the injunction, or to otherwise attempt to punish said school out of retaliation;
(3) Any attempt to enforce, implement or carry out in any manner, directly or indirectly, the decision of the IHSAA to the effect that [Jasmine] is ineligible to participate in interscholastic athletics at and on behalf of Washington [ ] for the period commencing with her enrollment at Washington [];
(4) Any and all direct or indirect threats, actions or charges against Jasmine [] or Washington [], or its employees or coaches, of any nature whatsoever, in any way arising out of the facts and cireumstances of this matter regarding [Jasmine's] enrollment at Elkhart Memorial [] and transfer to and enrollment at Washington [], for the 2008-2009 school year; and
(5) Any direct or indirect actions, penalties, or threats against any school which is scheduled to compete or does compete against [Washington], as a direct or indirect means to penalize or retaliate against Washington [ ] or [Jasmine].
Appellant's App. p. 48.
The IHSAA argues that this injunction has "made Jasmine the Teflon athlete, since the THSAA c.annot enforee any of its eligibility rules as to Jasmine." Appellant's Br. p. 41 (emphasis in original). It also argues that the injunction eliminates its ability to enforce the Undue Influence Rule against Washington and its coaches.
As to Jasmine, we note that there is no evidence in the record whatsoever that Jasmine violated any IHSAA eligibitity rules during the 2008-09 school year- or at any other time. Furthermore, Jasmine graduated from high school in May 2009 and is no longer participating in any high school athleties. Therefore, this argument is moot and it would serve no purpose to direct the trial court to spell out the relevant eligibility rules in the order.
As to Washington, the order prohibits the IHSAA from taking action against Washington or its coaches for conduct "arising out of the facts and cireum-stances" of Jasmine's transfer. Appellant's App. p. 48. Thus, to the extent that the IHSAA believes that Washington or its coaches have violated IHSAA rules with regard to other players, the IHSAA is not prevented from enforcing its rules.
As to the IHSAA's ability to enforce the Undue Influence Rule against Washington and its coaches for the events leading up to Jasmine's transfer, the trial court found that the IHSAA acted arbitrarily and capriciously in finding that Coach Seott had violated this Rule and in the way it applied this Rule to these parties, and we found that the trial court did not err in this regard.
Though the IHSAA protests that its decision concerned Jasmine's eligibility to *758take part in athletics rather than Coach Scott and/or Washington's violations of the rules, the IHSAA made it a part of the underlying issues herein when it explicitly found that Coach Scott had violated the Undue Influence Rule as part of its order. Given that the trial court found that the IHSAA acted arbitrarily and capriciously in that regard, it is logical that the trial court would have deemed it necessary to prevent the IHSAA from taking further action against Washington and its coaches based on these facts. Therefore, we do not find that the injunction order was overly broad.
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. ®
RILEY, J., concurs.
FRIEDLANDER, J., dissent with opinion.

. The dissent implies that the trial court was incorrect to hold its own evidentiary hearing on this matter. Initially, we note that the IHSAA did not object to the decision to hold a hearing. Moreover, it is entirely appropriate-and, generally, necessary-for a trial court to hold a hearing before ruling on a motion for a preliminary injunction. The IHSAA did object when Valerie and Jasmine introduced evidence that the IHSAA believed was improperly intended to usurp or supplement the administrative record that should determine the merits of the issue. And in fact, the trial court sustained some of the IHSAA's objections and emphasized that it was permitting the introduction of this evidence as relevant to the irreparable harm allegedly suffered as a result of the IHSAA's action, not as relevant to the underlying merits of the case. Tr. p. 20-23, 26-32. That is hardly a "trial de novo." Dissent p. 761.

. The dissent seems to have misunderstood this portion of the opinion. We have not ruled on--and were not asked to rule on-whether the trial court appropriately excluded evidence because it was hearsay. It made no such ruling, as we have already explained. Indeed, we agree with the dissent that "the normal proscriptions against hearsay do not apply in an administrative proceeding," dissent p. 761, and have drawn no contrary conclusions herein. Evidence must be competent, however, and the trial court was well within its rights to find the type of hearsay and double hearsay evidence relied upon by the IHSAA to be incompetent evidence. In other words, the trial court did not reject the evidence as hearsay, it rejected it as incompetent.

. The dissent contends that the use of the words "bribe" and "illicit" denote illegal activity. Dissent n. 5. That is incorrect. A "bribe" is "[al price, reward, gift or favor bestowed upon or promised with a view to pervert the judgment of or influence the action of a person in a position of trust." Black's Law Dictionary 186 (Zth ed.1999). '"Tllicit" means "illegal or improper." Id. at 750 (emphasis added). The IHSAA's own examples of prohibited inducements to transfer, set forth above, includes many examples of illicit-in other words, improper-behavior, including behavior that falls within the definition of "bribe." Here, though there was some evidence of conversations that took place, there was no evidence of behavior falling into these categories.

. Indeed, had the IHSAA been acting consistently and logically, it would not have explicitly stated that Jasmine could "still ... continue [to play] at Elkhart Memorial, with full eligibility." Appellant's App. p. 713. Had Valerie accepted the rent-reduced apartment or had Jasmine accepted the offers of a place to live and transportation, Jasmine would *755have been ineligible to play at Elkhart Memorial because of the blatant violations of the Undue Influence Rule.