Montana Supreme Court Rules High School Athletic Association Denied Student Due Process in Eligibility Dispute

By Nicholas Stegmann and Dr. Michael S. Carroll The Montana Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling on April 22, 2026, finding that the Montana High School Association (MHSA) failed to provide a student with constitutionally sufficient due process when it denied his request to play basketball as a fifth-year senior. The decision in Hert v. Montana High School Association (2026), may bring some clarity to questions that courts have struggled to address in the past regarding student-athlete el