Three Longtime State Association Leaders Reflect on Careers

This school year, a trio of state high school associations will welcome new leaders following the retirements of three longtime administrators who significantly shaped education- based athletics in their respective states.

Utah High School Activities Association Executive Director Rob Cuff and South Carolina High School League Commissioner Jerome Singleton both retired in July, while North Carolina High School Athletic Association Commissioner Que Tucker is set to retire October 1.

Collectively, the trio have more than 90 years of experience working for their state high school associations — and well over a century in education. Cuff spent 25 years with the UHSAA, including 17 as executive director; Singleton spent 31 years with the SCHSL, including 21 as commissioner; and Tucker has spent 35 years with the NCHSAA, including 11 as commissioner.

Cuff, Singleton and Tucker recently reflected on their time leading their respective high school associations, the changes they witnessed and the impact of education-based athletics and activities on the students and communities they served. Below is a collection of responses from the three.

Why are high school athletics and activities unique?

Cuff: It’s all about participation. In high school activities, you have opportunities for students who may not be able to afford club sports or who may not have access to specialized programs. While club settings often cater to those who can afford them or specialize in a particular sport, high school athletics provides a broader opportunity to participate. … There are fewer three- and four-sport athletes today, but we still have some, along with many two-sport athletes. There’s nothing better than playing for your community and your school, in front of your friends and family. Playing for a state championship is something really special. … The participation opportunities, quality coaches, life lessons and teachable moments all come together to make high school activities a unique and special experience. Most importantly, high school activities allow a greater majority of students to participate and play.

Singleton: The educational component is the difference. The games are played the exact same, but the teachable moments that come from a game is what separates educational athletics from all the rest. It separates it from college. It separates it from the pros. It separates it from everything else. It’s an educational component, and if we don’t hold on to that, then we will have a hard time defending why we offer it because it can’t be about money. It doesn’t pay enough. It costs a lot, but it doesn’t pay enough. So in order to defend it, it’s got to have an educational component to it, so that everybody, not just the winners, has an opportunity to benefit from education-based athletics.

Tucker: In education-based athletics, high school is where we have those teachable moments that we can truly stop and act on. I’m not sure you can do that at the collegiate or professional levels. … As a teacher-coach in high school, I could stop practice, sit my players down and say, ‘OK, practice is paused,’ and teach a life lesson. You can’t always do that at the collegiate level because the emphasis is so heavily on the X’s and O’s and winning. .. High school athletics is such a unique opportunity and environment where we can teach, model and mold young people into the kind of citizens we hope they will be once they leave our settings.

What do you think the public should know about high school state associations and the role they play in developing young people?

Cuff: First and foremost, (the public) should know that we’re all part of one big team. We all know that the reason we do what we do is for the students. As an association and a federation, students come first. … There may be only one champion in each sport, but there can be many winners when we create the right environment for education-based activities: life lessons and teachable moments. Sometimes we’re seen as the group that always says no, but we also have to make tough decisions and create as level a playing field as possible through our constitution and bylaws. … We’re not the bad guys. Most of us have spent our careers in education-based activities as coaches, teachers, administrators or officials. We’re simply taking those experiences and using them to create a level playing field and a positive experience for the students we serve.

Singleton: The member schools give the marching orders to the state association and that state association is required to enforce those rules that have been set by the membership. … The commissioner is the face, so it gives the appearance that the commissioner set the rules, created all these challenges, disciplined these schools any way they want to. That couldn’t be further from the truth. It is the state association that belongs to the membership. We’ve got to get our member schools to share with the parents, all the spectators, all the community, that it’s not THE state association but it’s OUR state association. We are the league. We are the association. I think once they do that, once you change the language, it gets a whole lot easier for people to understand.

Tucker: I think (the public) should know that we do education- based athletics at the high school level better than anybody else because we have a passion for it. We have priorities in order. It’s not about politics; it’s not about trying to please anybody. It’s about trying to provide a level playing field of opportunities for every child who walks through the front door of a member school. … We’re trying to make sure they have those opportunities to compete, but we also, as state associations, are about trying to have expanded opportunities. Many states expand that into activities. We also expand it into those leadership opportunities, such as national student leadership or the state student leadership opportunities.

What are some issues you foresee state high school associations addressing in the future?

Cuff: Certainly, anything trickling down from the college level, particularly NIL, needs to be looked at more closely. Sometimes we think of NIL as direct payment, but there can also be issues with students receiving housing or other benefits in ways that aren’t as visible… The transgender issue of making sure that biological females are playing female sports is a big emphasis in Utah. We want to make sure that biological females are playing female sports and biological males are playing male sports. … Transfer rules are also becoming a bigger issue nationwide. Questions about whether students should have one free transfer or no transfers at all are being debated. As the gatekeepers of academics, it’s important that transfer rules protect education and maintain a level playing field, rather than allowing athletics to create chaos for students. If a student is transferring from sport to sport and repeating that process year after year, it can be very damaging to their academics and overall success as a student.

Tucker: I think we’ll continue addressing the transfer issue because I don’t think parents understand that if you’re going to play at the next level, it’s not about finding the best school or the winningest team. That’s going to be a challenge because of the transfer portal at the collegiate level. That model has bled down into the thinking of high school parents and students, who may feel like they have to transfer. … I think NIL will also be a challenge. State associations are going to have to address it because there will be outside pressures encouraging young people to believe they can monetize their talents, sometimes in ways that exploit them or keep them from fully understanding what they’re signing. … I also believe sportsmanship and good behavior will continue to challenge all of us. How do we keep civility in our programs? How do we help young people understand that it’s OK to reach down and help somebody up? We’ve got to find that sweet spot where we can compete hard and with integrity, while always knowing we can do it the right way, by showing good behavior and being a good sport.

Singleton: The way colleges are constantly shifting, there’s a tendency for high school athletics to follow in that same direction. NIL and expanded transfer opportunities can give the appearance that there’s a transfer portal in high school, but there isn’t. The opportunity is to transfer for an educational experience and then participate in athletics. It’s becoming so free-handed, though, that sometimes the focus is on transferring for athletic purposes. … There are so many opportunities for that not to go well, and then you’re stuck. You have to ask yourself: Is this going to provide the education I need to move forward in life? If not, I need to think long and hard about it. One injury can shut everything down, and you don’t get many do-overs at the college level. You might get a redshirt year, but that doesn’t happen in high school. … I think that’s one of the biggest challenges we face when outside entities get involved that don’t really understand what we do. We do this every day, all day. How can somebody from the outside come in and tell you how to do what you do every day?

What are some of your proudest accomplishments as commissioner/executive director?

Cuff: First and foremost, I’m most proud that we collectively stayed together as a staff and operated as a team. We were that team behind the scenes creating positive experiences for students and student-athletes. Not just in sports, but also in music, theater, speech and debate, and esports. We take great pride in being an activities association in Utah, and all of those programs are important to our members, students and parents. … I’m also proud of the relationships we’ve built. The National Federation’s initiatives have helped us improve sportsmanship, strengthen the role of state associations and work effectively with our legislature. I think the most important thing we can remember in this profession is the importance of building relationships across several different areas. … I’ve had several assistant directors throughout my career, and I look back and think we’ve really been in the people business — building bridges, not tearing them down. We’ve worked to strengthen those relationships and create an impression of the association that we can be proud of.

Singleton: We started doing so many things that didn’t involve playing on the playing field: student leadership conferences, community service involvement, citizenship opportunities, sportsmanship awards … things that don’t have anything to do with X’s and O’s or how well you play it on the field. The health, wellness and safety that we’ve made a priority. We’re one of two states that has a position for a Health/Wellness/Safety director, and that was their primary responsibility. I think by placing those things on the front end, I think that has been good for our student-athletes from the state association.

Tucker: I’m proud that I had the opportunity to start the NCHSAA Student Services Program focused on leadership, the dangers of mixing substances with competition and life, and the importance of academics. We still have that program today, impacting students through leadership conferences and a student advisory committee while exposing them to national leadership opportunities. … I’m also proud of the expanded opportunities we’ve created for participation. Since I’ve been commissioner, we’ve sanctioned girls wrestling, girls flag football and boys volleyball. We’re providing students with opportunities to create memories that will last forever…. And while we haven’t arrived yet, we’ve never strayed from our core values. Good sportsmanship and good behavior remain central to everything we do. We may never eliminate every ejection or sportsmanship issue, but we’ll never stop emphasizing how important those values are to who we are and what we’re trying to accomplish.

Jordan Morey is manager of communications and media relations at the NFHS.