FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 24, 2007
Board approves qualifications, process for selecting Executive Director; authorizes development of enforcement policies, procedures
GAINESVILLE – The Florida High School Athletic Association Board of Directors today approved the minimum qualifications and process for selecting Executive Director and Commissioner John A. Stewart's successor. Stewart is set to retire on Nov. 1, 2008.
Minimum qualifications include a master's degree with an educational background, a minimum 10 years of combined experience in school, district or statewide educational administration, and an ability to foster collaborative efforts with other public and private organizations, the Florida Department of Education and the Florida Legislature. The application process concludes Dec. 14, with finalists to be determined at the board's January meeting and interviewed at its April meeting. The next executive director will be announced April 8 and begin employment July 1.
"Selecting the next executive director is our most important task this year," said Board of Directors President Richard Finlayson, principal of Aucilla Christian Academy. "Our goal is to find someone who can continue Dr. Stewart's efforts and the positive direction in which he has led the Association."
The board also authorized the development of a "Policy on Enforcement" that would establish guidelines and procedures for an FHSAA enforcement program and create a new Infractions Appeals Committee to hear appeals of schools challenging findings of violations and penalties imposed. A final draft of the proposed policy will be presented for adoption at the board's November meeting.
"This policy helps spell out the enforcement process for our member schools, so everyone has a clear idea how things happen," said Stewart. "Having everyone on the same page from the beginning is a good thing."
In addition, the board approved the conduct of an invitational state championship series in girls and boys lacrosse for Spring 2008. 63 boys and 62 girls teams accepted invitations to participate. District tournaments take place March 31-April 4, with first- and second-round play-in games, if necessary, Tuesday, April 8 and Friday, April 11. The Inaugural FHSAA Lacrosse Finals state tournament will be held Friday and Saturday, April 18-19.
In other action, the Board of Directors:
• Reaffirmed the "Administrative Guidelines, Regulations, Policies and Procedures of the FHSAA Board of Directors" for the 2007-08 school year as printed in the 2007-08 FHSAA Handbook and amended in this meeting.
• Endorsed a proposed amendment to FHSAA Bylaws to expand and restructure the composition of sectional appeals committees.
• Endorsed a proposed amendent to FHSAA Bylaws to officially retitle the position of Commissioner to "Executive Director" and to retitle the position to "Executive Director and Commissioner" in the interim.
• Approved a recommendation of the Baseball Advisory Committee to restrict an illegal player to the bench or dugout for the duration of the game rather than being subject to ejection.
• Approved a recommendation of the Softball Advisory Committee to adopt an NFHS rule permitting players to wear metal cleats and metal toe plates.
• Approved a recommendation of the Softball Advisory Committee to apply for a third NFHS experiment with the pitching distance at 43 feet.
• Approved a recommendation of the Tennis Advisory Committee to expand the FHSAA State Tennis Series to include the advancement of district runner-up teams to regional competition.
• Approved a recommendation of the Weightlifting Advisory Committee to allow coaches and/or participating student-athletes who already are on the competition floor to spot other lifters.
• Approved a recommendation of the Weightlifting Advisory Committee to eliminate the open qualifying format and require all sections to conduct their qualifying meets using the structured qualifying format.
• Approved a staff recommendation to revise the scoring system of the Dodge Sunshine Cup All-Sports Awards to score the top 16 teams in each sport instead of the top 32 to give greater weight to higher placing teams, give five-point bonuses to teams winning a district or regional championship, and deduct points for unsporting conduct.
• Approved a staff recommendation to expand the Academic Team Champion awards program to include all 31 sports in which the FHSAA conducts a state championship series.
• Approved the operations manual for the FHSAA Steroid Testing Program.
• Approved the appointment of Sam Ward, principal of Fleming Island High School, to fill the vacant public school representative seat on the Section 1 Appeals Committee.
• Randomly selected schools to undergo compliance reviews during the fall sports season.
• Heard an update on the FHSAA Handbook Revision Task Force.
• Heard a presentation on a staff recommendation to revise composition of the Athletic Directors Advisory Committee.
• Heard reports on the Officials Leadership Conference held June 1-2 in Orlando and the Inaugural Sportsmanship Summit held Sept. 14 in Orlando.
• Adopted the final versions of FHSAA and Land Corporation budgets for the 2007-08 fiscal year.
• Received and accepted reports from the independent audits of FHSAA and Land Corporation financial records for the 2006-07 fiscal year.
About the FHSAA
The Florida High School Athletic Association is the governing body for interscholastic athletic competition in Florida. It has a membership of more than 750 middle, junior and senior high schools.
The FHSAA Board of Directors is the executive authority of the Association, establishing guidelines, regulations, policies and procedures within the framework of the Association’s bylaws. The Board of Directors also has the sole authority over all terms and conditions of participation and competition in the FHSAA state championship series. The Board of Directors meets five times annually. Its next meeting is November 18-19, 2007 at the Robert W. Hughes FHSAA Building in Gainesville.
Contact:
Robert Hernberger
Director of Media Relations, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 190
rhernberger@fhsaa.org
