MHSAA ‘AD Connection Program’ Debuts with Start of 2023-24 School Year
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 7, 2023
A first-of-its-kind mentorship program is greeting more than 100 first-time high school athletic directors who are officially beginning their tenures at Michigan High School Athletic Association member schools with the start of the 2023-24 school year.
The “AD Connection Program” has matched those first-year high school athletic directors with one of eight mentors who have recently retired from the field and will now provide assistance as those new administrators transition to this essential role in school sports.
A total of 102 first-year high school athletic directors are beginning at MHSAA schools, meaning a new athletic administrator will be taking over at nearly 14 percent of the 750 member high schools across the state. Athletic director turnover at MHSAA high schools has reached 10 percent or more annually over the last few years, and it’s hoped that this additional mentorship will support athletic directors adjusting to the high pace and responsibilities of the position for the first time.
The AD Connection Program will build on training received at the required in-service program all new athletic directors must attend each fall. There is also a strong connection to programming from the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA), the professional development organization for the state’s athletic administrators.
"When you crystalize it, the AD Connection Program is an attempt for us to give a true year-long in-service to new athletic directors with people who have done it,” said MHSAA Assistant Director Brad Bush, who is coordinating the program and joined the MHSAA staff in January after more than two decades as an athletic administrator at Chelsea High School. “This also connects new ADs with a larger professional group, and it will culminate in March at the annual MIAAA conference, where there will be several face-to-face meetings with all ADs.
“These mentors are meant to become that first-year AD’s go-to person.”
Mentors will conduct frequent meetings with their cohorts. They also will meet monthly (or more) with each first-time athletic director individually via zoom, and at least once during the academic year face-to-face at the mentee’s school.
The eight mentors, noting their most recent schools as an athletic director, are Chris Ervin (most recently at St. Johns), Brian Gordon (Royal Oak), Sean Jacques (Calumet), Tim Johnston (East Grand Rapids), Karen Leinaar (Frankfort), Scott Robertson (Grand Haven), Meg Seng (Ann Arbor Greenhills) and Wayne Welton (Chelsea). Leinaar also will serve as the AD Connection Program’s liaison to the MIAAA, which she serves as executive director.
High school practices at MHSAA member schools may begin today, Monday Aug. 7, for the nine fall sports for which the MHSAA sponsors a postseason tournament. The AD Connection Program was approved by the MHSAA Representative Council during its annual Winter Meeting on March 24.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.3 million spectators each year.
-0-
Century of School Sports: Athletic Directors Indispensable to Mission of School Sports
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 25, 2025
The Michigan High School Athletic Association began its first Bulletin of the 1943-44 school year by reviewing the previous year’s accomplishments as World War II raged on multiple fronts. Eugene B. Elliott, the state’s superintendent of public instruction, addressed “Those in Charge of Athletics in Michigan High Schools” with a challenge and a promise that “… your efforts to provide opportunities for physical development will enable thousands of high school students to take their places in a needy world.”
Students of history know athletics were seen at that time primarily as a way to provide increased physical education and prepare students for a next step into the military. But read again today, with a little different context, Elliott’s words seemingly still apply.
At the high school level alone, the MHSAA counts more than 700 athletic administrators guiding more than 170,000 student-athletes as they learn lessons from their athletic experiences that will help them contribute to the world in any variety of ways once their time in school sports is done.
A century ago, athletic administration still was handled primarily by district superintendents or high school principals. By the 1940s, “athletic director” was a role mentioned much more frequently – superintendents and principals found themselves taking on several other responsibilities, and school sports grew so quickly in participation and popularity that another administrator to lead those extracurriculars became increasingly necessary.
In 1958, the Michigan Association of Physical Education and Athletics was formed, and in 1982 renamed the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. A close working relationship between the MHSAA and the state’s athletic directors has long been integral to the success of school sports in Michigan, and the MIAAA and MHSAA continue to strive hand-in-hand. The MHSAA has celebrated its 100th anniversary throughout the 2024-25 school year, and a century after its start, the major focus of the organization is providing support – and appreciation – for the work done by administrators at the local level.
Expectations for school sports programs have never been higher, and athletic directors have never been valued more. Current MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl writes in this winter’s benchmarks, “I am again reminded of how fortunate we are in Michigan to have so many athletic leaders across our diverse state who truly care about preserving and enhancing school sports for our young men and women.”
And an expectation from the 1977 edition of the textbook “Administration of High School Athletics” – co-written by first fulltime MHSAA executive director Charles E. Forsythe – continues to ring true as well: “Many challenges will confront (the athletic administrator) because of uncertainties that exist today. Meeting these challenges will make (the administrator’s) position in the school an even more important one.”
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
March 18: 2025 Finals Begin Next Half-Century of Girls Hoops Championships - Read
March 11: Boys Basketball's Best 1st to Earn MHSAA Finals Titles - Read
March 5: Everything We Do Begins with Participation - Read
Feb. 25: Slogans & Logos Remain Unforgettable Parts of MHSAA History - Read
Feb. 19: MHSAA Tickets Continue to Provide Fan-Friendly Value - Read
Feb. 11: We Recognize Those Who Make Our Games Go - Read
Feb. 4: WISL Conference Continues to Inspire Aspiring Leaders - Read
Jan. 28: Michigan's National Impact Begins at NFHS' Start - Read
Jan. 21: Awards Celebrate Well-Rounded Educational Experience - Read
Jan. 14: Predecessors Laid Foundation for MHSAA's Formation - Read
Jan. 9: MHSAA Blazes Trail Into Cyberspace - Read
Dec. 31: State's Storytellers Share Winter Memories - Read
Dec. 17: MHSAA Over Time - Read
Dec. 10: On This Day, December 13, We Will Celebrate - Read
Dec. 3: MHSAA Work Guided by Representative Council - Read
Nov. 26: Finals Provide Future Pros Early Ford Field Glory - Read
Nov. 19: Connection at Heart of Coaches Advancement Program - Read
Nov. 12: Good Sports are Winners Then, Now & Always - Read
Nov. 5: MHSAA's Home Sweet Home - Read
Oct. 29: MHSAA Summits Draw Thousands to Promote Sportsmanship - Read
Oct. 23: Cross Country Finals Among MHSAA's Longest Running - Read
Oct. 15: State's Storytellers Share Fall Memories - Read
Oct. 8: Guided by 4 S's of Educational Athletics - Read
Oct. 1: Michigan Sends 10 to National Hall of Fame - Read
Sept. 25: MHSAA Record Books Filled with 1000s of Achievements - Read
Sept. 18: Why Does the MHSAA Have These Rules? - Read
Sept. 10: Special Medals, Patches to Commemorate Special Year - Read
Sept. 4: Fall to Finish with 50th Football Championships - Read
Aug. 28: Let the Celebration Begin - Read
PHOTO Athletic administrators and coaches attend a session during the MIAAA's annual conference earlier this month.