New NFHS Officers, Board Members Elected for 2023-24

Tom Keating, executive director of the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA), is the new president of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) for 2023-24. Keating, the 64th president of the NFHS, began his one-year term July 2 following the NFHS Summer Meeting, which was held this year in Seattle, Washington.

Bob Lombardi, executive director of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA), was elected by the NFHS Board of Directors to the position of president-elect for the upcoming year.

The following individuals were approved by the NFHS National Council for four-year terms on the NFHS Board of Directors: Jeff Collins, executive director, New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA), Section 1; Lance Taylor, executive director, Arkansas Activities Association (AAA), Section 6; and Michael Sye, director of athletics, Baltimore (Maryland) County Public Schools System, at large, Sections 2 and 6.

Tom Keating joined the IHSAA staff as executive director July 1, 2019, after 15 years at Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was president of Xavier High during the 2018-19 school year after 14 years as the school’s principal. He served 24 years at Wahlert Catholic High School in Dubuque, Iowa, prior to arriving at Xavier in 2004.

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Keating began his career as a teacher and coach at Maxwell High School in 1977 before starting an award-winning run as a teacher, coach and activities director at Wahlert in 1980. Keating led Wahlert to 11 state volleyball championships, and he was named NFHS National Coach of the Year for volleyball in 2003.

Keating served on the IHSAA’s Board of Control from 2008 to 2018 and was chairperson in 2014-15. In 2010, he was named the National Catholic Educational Association’s Educator of the Year. He was a 2003 inductee in the National High School Athletic Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame, and he has been an adjunct instructor and authored five graduate-level courses for Drake University.

Nationally, Keating joined the NFHS Board of Directors as the Section 4 representative at the start of the 2020-21 school year.

Bob Lombardi has been a member of the PIAA administrative staff for the past 35 years and has been the organization’s executive director since 2012.

As one of the nation’s longest-tenured state association administrators, Lombardi has served the PIAA in a number of ways since joining in the staff in 1988. Over the years, he has been tournament director for most PIAA championships. He started his career at the PIAA as assistant executive director and, after five years, was promoted to associate executive director prior to assuming the head position 11 years ago.

As PIAA executive director, Lombardi handles bylaw interpretations, strategic planning, fiscal management, office operations, the PIAA Foundation and legislative affairs.

Lombardi, who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from East Stroudsburg University and his doctorate in sports administration from the University of New Mexico, is recognized as the founding father of the PIAA Officials Convention. At the national level, Lombardi was chair of the NFHS Soccer Rules Committee, and he served a term on the NFHS Basketball Rules Committee.

Jeff Collins has been executive director of the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA) since July 2014. Prior to his appointment to the NHIAA, Collins was principal of Portsmouth (New Hampshire) High School for eight years.

Collins began his career in education as a social studies teacher at Salem (New Hampshire) High School in 1995. Four years later, he took the position of director of humanities at Salem, but he left the district to be the headmaster for curriculum at Nashua (New Hampshire) High School in 2002. Before his position at Portsmouth, Collins was assistant principal at Nashua (New Hampshire) North High School for three years.

Collins is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, where he obtained both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. While working toward his bachelor’s degree in history, Collins was a four-year scholarship recipient in football. Nationally, Collins is also a member of the NFHS Annual Summer Meeting Advisory Committee.

Lance Taylor was named executive director of the Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) in 2006, after seven years as the organization’s associate executive director (2000-03), deputy executive director (2003-05) and executive director-elect (2005-06). Prior to joining the AAA in 2000, he was a teacher, coach and principal at three Arkansas schools for 13 years.

After graduating from Arkansas State University (ASU) in 1987, Taylor began his career as a teacher and coach at Hot Springs (Arkansas) Cutter Morning Star High School (1988-93) and Greenwood (Arkansas) High School (1993-98). He then served two one-year stints as a high school principal at Greenwood High School and Batesville (Arkansas) High School.

Taylor, who is the second-longest tenured state association executive director, will be serving his second term on the NFHS Board of Directors. He previously served a term from 2011 to 2015. At 17 years of service, Taylor is second behind Jerome Singleton, who has directed the South Carolina High School League since 2005.

Taylor’s other involvement on NFHS committees has been extensive. He has held positions on the Football Rules Committee, Soccer Rules Committee, Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, Citizenship Committee, Appeal Board, Summer Meeting Advisory Committee, NFHS HOLDCO Committee and the NFHS Foundation Board of Directors. In addition, he has been a member of two NFHS Strategic Planning Committees, including chair of the 2016-2021 committee.

A certified principal and superintendent and Arkansas native, Taylor received his master’s degree in secondary administration from ASU in 1992.

Michael Sye has been director of athletics for the Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) since 2012. He oversees athletics programs for 24 high schools and 27 middle schools in BCPS, which is the third largest school system in Maryland and No. 22 in the United States with approximately 14,000 student-athletes.

After graduating from the University of Delaware in 1995, Sye coached football and track and field at his alma mater, Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County, until 2000, when he was named the school’s athletic director. As track and field coach at Woodlawn, Sye led both the indoor and outdoor teams to state titles in 1998.

Sye was athletic director at Woodlawn for 12 years until his appointment to BCPS in 2012. During this time, he earned his CAA and CMAA certifications from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) and his master’s degree from American Intercontinental University.

In addition to his many duties as BCPS director of athletics, Sye is heavily involved with the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA). Currently, he is MPSSAA president and a member of the MPSSAA Executive Council and the MPSSAA Board of Control. He also is director of the MPSSAA State Cross Country Championships.