In Celina, football is king.
The bright orange Celina Bobcats, undefeated in their season and state champions nine times over, are the jewel in the crown of one of the fastest-growing towns in the country. The team plays in the state semifinals this weekend, just one victory away from another trip to AT&T Stadium and a shot at a 10th state title.
Some Celina residents are worried its school district and police department have not been transparent or thorough in investigating the head football coach’s son. The case raises questions about the football-oriented community’s priorities and identity, which is bound tightly with high school sports.
But a scandal that wound its way to the U.S. Department of Justice has turned Celina’s image as a family-oriented community anchored by high school sports on its head. Some residents are concerned the town’s focus on its football team has led to a muted response to allegations against William “Caleb” Elliott, a middle school teacher, coach and son of Celina High School’s acclaimed head football coach Bill Elliott.
Caleb Elliot’s arrest and indictment on eight federal charges of sexual exploitation of children has rocked the football-first town.
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The 26-year-old is accused of recording middle school boys undressing in a locker room and producing child pornography. Celina police say there are nearly 40 alleged victims of the former Moore Middle School football coach. A slew of at least four civil lawsuits, made possible due to a new state law that holds public schools liable for employee sexual misconduct, has added to the accusations.
Caleb Elliott remains in jail as of Thursday. His attorney did not respond to requests for comment.
The allegations against Elliott aren’t the only accusations against district employees.
Another Moore Middle School teacher was arrested in October when she showed up to school “impaired,” police said. She was booked in Collin County jail on a charge of endangering a child.
The Celina team prepares to start the third quarter during a Celina High School football game against Alvarado High School at Vernon Newsom Stadium in Mansfield, Texas, on Dec 5, 2025.
Jason Janik / Special Contributor
Celina High School wrestling coach Neil Phillips was put on administrative leave this fall after allegations of inappropriate conduct at a previous job in Melissa ISD came to light, according to an email sent to parents.
A special education teacher’s aide at the high school was arrested and booked in jail in early November after appearing impaired at work, police said.
The incidents, taken together, have generated outrage in the community and calls for accountability.
“Transparency. That’s what I want,” said Tammy Pitts, mom to two former Celina ISD students. “I’m glad that this district is now being put under a microscope.”
But it’s the allegations against Caleb Elliott that have drawn the most ire.
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‘Hard to believe’
In lawsuits against the district, Caleb Elliott and other district employees, plaintiffs allege Celina ISD employees knew of Caleb Elliott’s misconduct and did not take proper action. Some filings assert the district was aware that he allegedly pursued a romantic relationship with a student when he worked as an assistant football coach at Celina High School and subsequently moved him to Moore Middle School.
Celina police say they did not find evidence that others knew Caleb Elliott was recording middle school boys and failed to report it, and police named no other suspects.
“It’s hard to believe,” said Kyle Sims, a grandparent of two Celina ISD students who says he is an advocate for children.
Celina ISD did not respond to requests for comment, but in a statement, said staff had no prior knowledge of alleged criminal behavior by Caleb Elliott. The district has initiated an “independent third-party investigation,” and the Texas Education Agency is also investigating, in addition to the Collin County District Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Bill Elliott has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave while the investigation into his son is ongoing. The head coach and district athletic director was not accused of wrongdoing by police or Celina ISD, but he was identified in the hiring and supervision of his son and placed on leave so his presence would not interfere with the investigation, according to the district.
Staff who have been placed on leave will remain on leave pending the completion of ongoing investigations, according to a November statement from the district.
A few weeks after allegations first came to light, a petition signed by nearly 1,000 people asked the district to allow the high school football coach back on campus for the team’s senior night. Celina ISD did not permit Bill Elliott to attend.
As scrutiny from lawmakers and community members has intensified, allegations of nepotism, a culture of cover-up and favoritism for the regional powerhouse football team have stained Celina ISD, breaking trust in a community that’s been forced to grow up fast.
“Celina is known for its football team and sports, and now that image has been tarnished,” Sims said.
Celina’s scandal comes amid what the DOJ calls a “growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse” in America. At least one in four girls and one in 20 boys in the U.S. experience child sexual abuse, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a result, Sims was unsurprised when he heard of Caleb Elliott’s arrest.
“I wish I could say I was shocked,” Sims said. “I know no city or town or district is exempt from this. I was more disappointed than anything.”
In a community letter in November, Celina ISD Superintendent Tom Maglisceau asked the community to look forward, not back.
“While the events of the past weeks may refine our community, it does not define our community,” Maglisceau wrote to the community in November. “Our best days as a district and as a community are still before us.”
Community members tell The Dallas Morning News they still want answers.
“If we’re gonna keep trust in our society and in our school districts, we have to be forthcoming about what’s going on,” Sims said.
Fans cheer during a Celina High School football game against Alvarado High School at Vernon Newsom Stadium in Mansfield, Texas, on Dec 5, 2025.
Jason Janik / Special Contributor
‘Football takes precedence’
Celina is a rapidly changing community clinging to small-town roots still evident in its historic downtown square and its hallmark water tower, which pictures a signature stalk of grain splashed behind the town’s name.
The former agricultural community’s wheat fields are being replaced by rows of homes. The city’s population more than doubled to over 43,000 people from 2020 to 2023, U.S. Census data shows. Its B-rated school district has grown, too, to more than 6,300 students today from 2,800 in 2020, according to the TEA.
Pitts and her family are part of the town’s growth. They moved to Celina five years ago, and Pitts’ daughters attended school in Celina ISD until recently. She said there are good people in Celina, but the town can be unwelcoming, and Pitts said district administration did not properly investigate an incident she reported this year.
Pitts shared with The News communications she had with the district after reporting harassment and negligence toward her daughter and said she believes leaders didn’t do enough. Celina ISD did not respond to a request for comment about the incident Pitts reported, but in one of the emails, an official said the district was “committed to continuous improvement.”
The incident with Caleb Elliott does not come as a surprise to Pitts. It underscored what she already thought of Celina’s school district and community.
“It seems like it doesn’t matter what wrong has taken place; the athletic department, especially football, takes precedence over everything else,” Pitts said.
Pitts worries incidents in the district are not properly reported and investigated because of fear that coaches could lose their jobs and jeopardize the athletic program’s success.
“If it doesn’t promote their reputation of excellence,” Pitts said of the school district, “then it gets buried.”
Attorneys at the firm Nix Patterson accused the district of being blinded by the glamour of its football team’s victories in a suit against the district, Caleb and Bill Elliot, and Celina ISD administrators.
“In our community, the prestige and power of a successful football program — and the singular influence of its head coach — became an end unto itself, eclipsing the most basic duties of care owed to children,” the filing states. “The program’s on-field victories, financial contributions, and civic stature fostered a culture of deference that distorted judgment, eroded accountability, and rewarded silence.”
Head coach since 2012, Bill Elliott is celebrated for leading the Celina Bobcats through a perfect season last year and their ninth state championship in a town where “football comes first,” said Ross Leonoudakis, an attorney with Nix Patterson.
The petition to allow Bill Elliott to the high school’s senior night described him as a “long-time coach and mentor.”
“Coach Elliott has been instrumental in the development of these seniors throughout their high school careers and even prior, for many going back to pee wee tackle football,” the petition description reads.
At a packed October school board meeting before he was placed on leave, Bill Elliott expressed his appreciation for the community, adding that he will always love his son.
“I want you to know how sorry I am and my family is,” Bill Elliott said at the meeting, wearing Bobcat orange. “One person is to blame for all of this … he will face the consequences.”
The coach’s position in the community and proximity to his son have led to concerns from some parents. A counter-petition opposing Bill Elliott’s presence at the district’s senior night gathered more than 200 signatures.
Moore Middle School is seen, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025, in Celina.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
“Many families are still reeling from the betrayal of trust and the trauma their children endured,” the petition reads. “Allowing Mr. Elliott to attend Senior Night would be deeply painful and disrespectful to those families.”
Some in the community stand behind district leaders. Vicky Hogue, a Celina ISD parent, told board members in November they “are not alone.”
“I know our community is facing difficult and emotional times,” she said at a school board meeting. “There are people in this community that appreciate the work that is being done, who value the progress we’ve made and who believe in the educators … in this district.”
‘The million-dollar question’
Chief among concerns from those seeking justice is the Celina police department’s insistence that no one in the district knew of Caleb Elliott’s actions.
“That’s the million-dollar question right now,” Sims said. “What did somebody else know if they did know it, and how can we prevent this in the future from happening to another child?”
Moore Middle School is seen, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025, in Celina.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
Celina Police Chief John Cullison said his department, which has 71 officers according to a public information officer, conducted a thorough investigation.
“Every lead was pursued, every piece of evidence was thoroughly examined, and no stone was left unturned,” Cullison said in a prepared statement.
The chief said the department will investigate any new evidence or allegations, and police announced another charge of sexual performance of a child against Caleb Elliott in late November — a second-degree felony.
Some leaders were not satisfied.
“Celina Police Department has stopped their investigation where they wanted to and not necessarily where the evidence would lead them,” State Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, said at a news conference last week.
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Paul Herz, an attorney representing multiple families in a lawsuit against Celina ISD and Caleb Elliott, said his firm intends to find out exactly who knew of Caleb Elliott’s actions. He believes Celina PD did not adequately investigate the school district.
“They obviously wrapped up nice and early to get back to the football season,” Herz said. “I think everyone’s looking to the civil lawyers and civil process and what a civil judge will order to reveal the truth, because all the police revealed is what Caleb Elliott did. But I don’t think that’s enough to give anyone the satisfaction of a safe school.”
Cullison has urged lawyers involved in the case to turn in any new evidence to the police.
Sims and Herz said they know families who are considering leaving the district because of the incident. Pitts said she’s heard of families reconsidering a move to Celina. For some, it’s tainted the town, Herz said.
The varsity cheerleaders hype up the crowd during a Celina High School football game against Alvarado High School at Vernon Newsom Stadium in Mansfield, Texas, on Dec 5, 2025.
Jason Janik / Special Contributor
“Sending your kids to school is a trust exercise,” Herz said. “You’re tacitly understanding that you’re entrusting your children, without you, to the care of other adults. … When that trust is broken, I think it makes people do some big reevaluations.”
Under the Friday night lights in Mansfield last week, and without their head coach, Celina’s Bobcats squashed Alvarado’s Indians 52-27 to advance to the state semifinals this week.
Celina ISD’s Assistant Director of Athletics, Kyle Sheridan, is leading the high school football program in Bill Elliott’s absence, along with coaches Josh Sharrock, Aaron Ford and Bill Elliott’s other son, Nathan Elliott, according to a statement from the district superintendent. If the Bobcats beat Stephenville on Friday, they’ll be one win away from a 10th state title, a potential trophy in a school year mired in heartbreak and betrayal.
Sims doesn’t know what the healing process will look like.
“But I do think the faster that all the facts come out,” he said, “the faster the community will begin to heal.”
Email tips on all things Collin County to lilly.kersh@dallasnews.com.