North Carolina association governs 375 schools

By Bob Herman

It all started with a simple proposal and a meager $200.

In 1912, Dr. Louis Round Wilson approached University of North Carolina (UNC) President Dr. Francis Venable about starting the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) as a part of an Extension Division. A year of deliberation ensued and resulted in a $600 allotment for the Extension Division project -- and $200 went toward the high school athletic association that aimed to standardize rules and guarantee fairness.

By the fall of 1913, there were high school state championships for football and track, and many other sports soon followed.
"We've had a very rich history," NCHSAA Executive Director Charlie Adams said. "Not only athletes, but also coaches and programs. We've produced a lot of collegiate and professional athletes, but we've also conducted a wholesome athletic environment."

School administrators throughout North Carolina adopted a new constitution in 1947 for the NCHSAA, which relieved UNC of all financial commitments to the association and provided for a Board of Directors that still operates today.

Although the NCHSAA is the main high school athletics association in North Carolina today, there was a point at which two other organizations also shared responsibilities with the NCHSAA. The North Carolina High School Athletic Conference for historically black schools and the Western North Carolina High School Activities Association both merged with the NCHSAA in 1967 and 1977, respectively.

And since 1978, the NCHSAA has been in the Simon F. Terrell Building located on Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill has always been home to the association, though, because UNC was the big stimulus for its actual creation.

Administrative staff

There are 16 full-time members at the association's Chapel Hill office, of which six are administrators.

Charlie Adams, who has been the executive director of the NCHSAA since 1984, joined the NCHSAA in 1967, making him the nation's longest currently tenured state association administrator. He served as assistant executive director and supervisor of officials prior to his duties, and Adams has headed numerous programs that have made the NCHSAA one of the most renowned state associations in the country. His NCHSAA Endowment Fund, the implementation of the NCHSAA Hall of Fame and a multitude of student services programs have highlighted his long and storied career at the NCHSAA. At the national level, Adams served as president of the NFHS in 1997-98, and he was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame in 2001.

Before becoming the deputy executive director in 1991, Marilyn Que Tucker served as an assistant coach for North Carolina State University's women's basketball program in which she specialized in the team members' academic progress. She also was a high school basketball and volleyball coach in the late 1970s and 1980s. Her main responsibilities involve student services, chemical awareness programs and a wide array of leadership seminars.

A media-packed history best describes Associate Executive Director Rick Strunk, as he joined the NCHSAA in the summer of 1986. He was a sports editor at a daily newspaper, the sports information director at Lenoir-Rhyne (North Carolina) College and Furman (North Carolina) College during the 1980s and a television and radio broadcaster. Strunk has served two terms as the chairperson of the National Records Committee and oversees the publications and media information at the NCHSAA.

A more recent addition to the NCHSAA administrative family is Assistant Executive Director Mark Dreibelbis. He started at the NCHSAA in 2005 after he worked as the annual fund director, the assistant alumni director and the associate director of athletics during his tenure at Appalachian State (North Carolina) University. Dreibelbis is in charge of the student services program and works as the clinician and rules interpreter for many sports.

Former NFHS Volleyball Rules Committee member Carolyn Shannonhouse also serves as an assistant executive director for the NCHSAA. Shannonhouse has worked within interscholastic high school athletics her entire professional career. She was a head coach and teacher in the 1970s and 1980s, but now her main responsibilities include the girl's sports programs and the Women in Sports recognition program for North Carolina.

Anything that involves the NCHSAA's $4.8 million Endowment Fund directly comprises the duties of Director of Development Karen Moose DeHart. She directs, administers and coordinates the large-scale endowment project, which also includes acquiring and maintaining revenue sources and implementing several fund-raising campaigns. DeHart has been a part of the NCHSAA for around a decade, and she graduated from UNC with a master's in exercise and sports science.

The association's active and strong internship program also has a played a large role in the NCHSAA's success.

"We have a very healthy intern program with several college students, primarily from UNC, working as interns during the school year and then a couple on a full-time basis during the summer," Adams said. "Most are volunteers, and since the program began, we have had more than 200 students work with us in the past 20 years."

Governance

The NCHSAA governs 375 schools and more than 185,000 student-athletes. Its charter allows "public and non-boarding parochial schools" to be members.

"Everyone has a chance to get involved, to participate, to compete and to enjoy the carry-over values," Adams said.

There are three non-boarding parochial schools in the NCHSAA while the remaining schools are public.

Private schools dance to a completely different beat. They have their own organization called the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association, and they possess different rules.

The NCHSAA Board of Directors meets twice a year in late November or early December and in late April or early May.

There are 16 regular Board members and five ex officio members from the North Carolina Coaches Association, the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association, the North Carolina School Boards Association, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and other organizations.

Superintendents, principals, athletic directors and coaches also constitute the Board representing one of the eight regions of the state and a particular enrollment classification (classes 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A).

"We also strive to make sure that our Board is as diverse as possible within the guidelines of the constitution," Adams said.

Championship Competition

Opportunity is abundant within the NCHSAA, as it offers 11 sports for boys and 10 for girls with four classifications in most sports.

The boys sports include football, cross country, soccer, basketball, swimming and diving, wrestling, indoor track, tennis, golf, outdoor track and field, and baseball.

The girls sports include cross country, volleyball, soccer, basketball, swimming and diving, indoor track, tennis, golf, outdoor track and field, and softball.

Cheerleading is considered to be an activity, as there are safety and eligibility regulations, and the NCHSAA does offer an invitational championship in cheerleading.

In 2006-07, there were a total of 84 team championships awarded. Football is a unique case, though -- it is subdivided and now has eight championships (4AA, 4A, 3AA, 3A, etc.). The more A's, the bigger the high school, so its 4AA championship is for the larger schools in the 4A classification and the 4A championship would be for the smaller schools in that same class. It is the only subdivided sport.

Issues and Involvement

The NCHSAA has many items on its agenda, and everything revolves around its primary mission.

"Over the years, we've been trying to be proactive and on the cutting edge of things," Adams said. "Every change we make is for the best interest of our student-athletes, and we want to keep things in perspective with academics, sportsmanship, civility, serving our high schools and serving our high school athletics. It's not all about the glory. It's about a wholesome athletic environment."

Adams said that some of the many issues the NCHSAA are currently managing involve the realignment of schools, sportsmanship, school system finances, coaches education and a buckle-up campaign to promote the use of seat belts.

The NCHSAA has also created a sizable Endowment Fund, and one of the ways it is being used is for the avoidance of athletic and activity participation fees.

"The interest generated from the NCHSAA Endowment Fund can be used for a number of items per our Board of Directors' approval," DeHart said. "One way in which we can use this revenue is to underwrite regional and/or state championship events rather than charging entry fees to participating schools and athletes - hence no ‘pay for play' at the state playoff level.

"In addition, we have considered the idea of earmarking some of the interest revenue as ‘grant' money available to schools in need to help them offset costs so they will not be forced to implement participation fees. However, we have not yet finalized this plan for approval by our Board -- it is still in the talking stages."

Mainly, the NCHSAA wants equal options available for all students without having to resort to participation fees in the first place.

"The NCHSAA believes that all North Carolina student-athletes should have the opportunity to participate on their high school teams and that the implementation of a participation fee in any of the playoff events and state finals would keep athletes from competing due to financial hardship," DeHart said. "Therefore, if we face funding issues and do not have corporate dollars to underwrite an event, we could utilize interest revenue generated from the Endowment Fund to cover those costs and not place the cost back on the athletes, their parents or the schools."

Bob Herman is a fall semester intern in the NFHS Publications/Communications Department. He is a junior at Butler (Indiana) University, majoring in journalism (news editorial) and minoring in Spanish.