CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- The PIAA disagreed with the WPIAL, and now the West Allegheny football team might have a quarterback for next season.

The PIAA ruled Wednesday night that Dylan Bongiorni is eligible for the football season, overturning a previous WPIAL ruling that made Bongiorni ineligible in all sports after transferring from Burgettstown to West Allegheny in January.

Bongiorni, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound sophomore, was a football and basketball standout at Burgettstown, throwing for more than 1,000 yards as a freshman and averaging 19.7 points a game in basketball before quitting the team in the middle of this past season. He transferred to West Allegheny a few weeks later.

Burgettstown did not sign off on the transfer, and the WPIAL had a hearing last month with Bongiorni, his family and officials from both schools. The WPIAL ruled Bongiorni ineligible in all sports for a period of one year from his transfer. The WPIAL claimed Bongiorni's transfer was at least partly for athletic intent, which is against WPIAL rules.

Bongiorni appealed the decision to the PIAA, which made its ruling after a hearing Wednesday afternoon. The WPIAL and PIAA can make sports-specific eligibility rulings, and the PIAA ruled Bongiorni eligible for football, but ineligible for basketball until Jan. 20, 2011 (one year from his date of transfer).

"The burden of proof on West Allegheny was to give the [PIAA] board of appeals reason why he should be declared eligible in all sports, while Burgettstown needed to provide enough evidence that he should remain ineligible in all sports," said PIAA executive director Brad Cashman.

"The board of appeal didn't feel enough evidence was presented to justify his ineligibility in football."

Bongiorni moved in with an uncle when he originally transferred to West Allegheny. His parents did not move with him, but the family has since purchased a house in the West Allegheny district.

Craig Lee, Bongiorni's attorney, acknowledged that the reason for the transfer was because of harsh treatment by Burgettstown basketball coach Brendan Cypher. But Lee did not believe that should make Bongiorni ineligible.

The PIAA Board of Control meetings started Wednesday night and will continue through this morning. The PIAA released a financial report that showed revenue was down $400,000 from a few years ago.

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