Boyne City Public Schools Receives MIAAA's Exemplary Athletic Program Award
February 3, 2026
The Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA) has named Boyne City Public Schools as a recipient of the 2026 MIAAA Exemplary Athletic Program Award.
The award will be formally presented to Boyne City athletic director Matt Windle on March 15 during the MIAAA Annual Business Meeting at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa.
Established in 1998, the MIAAA Exemplary Athletic Program Award recognizes high school athletic programs across Michigan that model excellence, equity, and educationally sound practices. The program was created to identify and publicly recognize outstanding athletic programs, provide a framework for voluntary self-assessment, promote the sharing of best practices statewide, and encourage continued improvement in Michigan’s high school athletic programs.
Boyne City Public Schools becomes the 24th athletic program recognized over the past 25 years and only the 14th program honored during the last two decades, underscoring the selectivity and prestige of the Exemplary Athletic Program Award.
As part of the evaluation process, the MIAAA Exemplary Athletic Program Committee conducted a three-day on-site visit in the fall, meeting with district administrators, coaches, student-athletes, parents, and support staff. The visit provided committee members with the opportunity to review and share Boyne City’s vision, goals, and systems supporting a comprehensive, equitable, and education-based athletic program.
Boyne City athletics was selected following a thorough assessment and review process examining program structure, leadership practices, equity initiatives, sportsmanship, and the ways in which the athletic program serves its various constituents. Exemplary programs demonstrate sustained success in advancing the emotional, social, moral, and physical growth of all participants while reinforcing the core values of interscholastic athletics.
The 2026 recognition places Boyne City Public Schools among a distinguished group of athletic programs statewide that have demonstrated consistent excellence since the award’s inception.
Boyne City athletic director Matt Windle said of the award: “This recognition reflects the collective effort of so many people who care deeply about providing meaningful opportunities for our student-athletes. Our coaches, staff, administrators, families, and community consistently put students first and work together to create an environment rooted in growth, accountability, and support.
“We are proud of the culture that exists within Boyne City athletics and grateful for the opportunity to serve students through education-based athletics.”
(Photos by Kishba Media.)
Bentz Adds Next Chapter to Inspirational Story as Novi Christian Athletic Director
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
September 24, 2024
NOVI – For anyone seeking an inspirational speaker, new Novi Christian athletic director Chad Bentz has a story he’d like to tell.
His includes the value of resilience, proof that improbable dreams can come true, and affirmation that mentors can change lives.
Bentz spent time in Major League Baseball, playing 36 games for the Montreal Expos in 2004 and four games in 2005 for the Miami Marlins as a left-handed relief pitcher.
The chances of making it to the big leagues are slim to begin with, but were even longer considering that Bentz grew up in Alaska.
On top of that, Bentz has a deformed right hand. When he debuted with the Expos, he followed in the footsteps of Jim Abbott, who also has a deformed right hand and starred at Flint Central and University of Michigan on the way to pitching for four MLB teams across 10 seasons.
Bentz was certainly a case of beating improbable odds, and watching Abbott while growing up was a big reason why.
“Everybody has their favorite players, but Jim was more than that to me,” Bentz said. “He gave me confidence to try things. I was always the kid with the weird hand. I always kept my hand in my pocket and was always self-conscious about it. Then I saw Jim pitching. He gave me confidence to try things, and thank goodness he did. When I tried things, I discovered I was good at it and got more confidence.”
It got even better for Bentz as a college freshman playing for Long Beach State, when he got to meet Abbott in during an unexpected visit.
“Meeting him was by far the most star-struck I’ve ever been,” he said. “We both stuck out our left hands to shake and it was the first time ever where it wasn’t that awkward. It was everything I thought it was going to be. He was incredibly nice, funny and just a good dude. That was one of my favorite moments. Kids being born, wedding and Jim.”
A big part of Bentz’ baseball development occurred in Michigan. Although he grew up in Alaska — he said he could’ve been a “Hall of Famer pitching inside of a gym” — Bentz would spend his summers in Michigan with family members in the Grand Rapids area.
He ended up hooking up with a travel ball team in the area, the Grand Rapids A’s, which was a step up from competition he saw in Alaska.
“I went down to Michigan, and I said, ‘OK, there are a lot of players in this country, and I am not as good as I thought I was,’” he said. “After my freshman year here (playing summer ball), I went back (to Alaska), and I started lifting and I didn’t stop. I kept working.”
Bentz eventually was drafted out of high school in the 34th round by the New York Yankees, played at Long Beach State and then was drafted in the seventh round by the Expos in 2001. In choosing baseball, he turned down opportunities to play football at Division I schools in what was then the PAC-10.
Bentz had been a standout linebacker and fullback, and when his baseball career was done, he began a college football career at age 30 playing for Castleton State College in Vermont.
“Playing college football at age 30 kind of gave me a taste of it, and that taste was that you should have done this 10 years ago,” Bentz quipped. “Not at 30. I was in slings every single Sunday. I couldn’t move. My arms were in slings. Both of them. But it was worth it. I loved and was thankful I had that opportunity. It filled that ‘what if’ type of thing.”
A husband and father of three, including 2-year-old twin boys, Bentz jumped on the chance to become the athletic director at Novi Christian and move to Michigan to not only be closer to family but give his kids a chance to be more active.
“Alaska is great, but it’s limiting,” Bentz said. “I told people that the grass isn’t going to be greener, but it’s just going to be a bigger yard and more swings for them to play on. We just wanted a little bit more opportunity.”
Bentz also said he would love the opportunity to speak in front of groups of people and share his journey in hopes of inspiring others, something he did regularly when he was in Major League Baseball at various ballparks.
"I was able to meet a lot of people of all ages who had any types of disabilities or anything,” he said. “I just know the kind of impact it can have. If I can do that and do a tiny bit of what Jim gave me, I’d like to pay it forward as much as possible.”
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTO courtesy of Chad Bentz.