( CNN ) -- The 19-year-old Michigan student with Down syndrome who drew national attention for his fight to play football at his high school will be allowed to suit up his senior year , his father said Thursday . The Michigan High School Athletic Association approved Eric Dompierre 's request for a waiver to keep playing , even though he exceeds the state 's official age limit , according to his father , who said he learned the news from the athletic director at Ishpeming High School . The Dompierre family had been petitioning the school and athletic association to create a waiver process for more than 2.5 years . They were pushing to give the teen , who was held back in kindergarten because of his disability and turned 19 in January , a way around rules that banned students from participating in high school athletics if they turned 19 before September 1 . `` We 're proud of the way Eric advocated for himself and kids like Eric . We 're very grateful for all the people , tens of thousands of people , that stepped forward , '' Dean Dompierre , Eric 's father , told CNN . The student 's underdog quest to keep playing sports in Michigan 's Upper Peninsula garnered widespread attention . An online petition on Change.org that was started on March 24 garnered more than 94,000 signatures . Yooper Shirts , a T-shirt store in Ishpeming , sold shirts that said `` let 'em play . '' On the football field and the basketball court , the 19-year-old has shown flashes of athletic prowess , kicking an extra point near the end of a football game several years ago and hitting a 3-point shot in the basketball playoffs to help his team maintain a comfortable lead . In May , after the Dompierre family 's lobbying , the athletic association created a new waiver process , allowing student athletes who turn 19 before September to play sports under `` narrowly defined '' circumstances . Under the new waiver rule , a student `` must have a defined disability documented to diminish both physical and either intellectual or emotional capabilities , does not create a health or safety risk to participants and does not create a competitive advantage for the team . The burden of proof rests with the school seeking the waiver , '' the association said in a statement . The age restriction is intended to prevent the possibility of injury or competitive advantage from an older , more developed athlete playing against younger students . `` The rule is 100 years old , '' Dean Dompierre told CNN in May . `` We 've come a long way in those 100 years in this country in the way that we involve and include people with disabilities . And I think it 's time that the rule catches up with that . '' Eric Dompierre started practicing with the football team before the waiver was accepted , in hopes that he would be cleared . The rule change and waiver acceptance means he will be allowed to play as an extra point kicker on his high school football team . `` And when football is over , he 'll try out for the basketball team he 's been playing on for three years , '' Dean Dompierre told CNN Thursday . `` Thanks to all the people that signed the petition and spoke up . Without them , this could n't have happened . ''
The boy 's father says officials have ruled he can play , despite age restrictions . 19-year - old Eric Dompierre has Down syndrome and was held back in kindergarten . His underdog quest to keep playing for his family garnered widespread attention . Father : ` ` We 're proud of the way Eric advocated for himself and others like him ''