MHSAA Officials Awards & Alumni Banquet: Photos, Video & OMD 2026.
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 30, 2026
More than 80 MHSAA-registered game officials were honored Saturday during the annual Officials Awards & Alumni Banquet at Kellogg Center in East Lansing.
Our MHSAA communications director emeritus John Johnson was on site, camera in hand, to capture photos of our award winners and several more attendees and honorees. Check those out by clicking here – MHSAA Officials Banquet photos – to see not only photos from this past weekend but also from 2003-19, 2024-25, and the 2013 and 2018 Officiate Michigan Day events.
Among this year’s honorees was Grand Ledge senior Owen Rottier, who received the Randy Paulson Legacy Award and scholarship. Owen has officiated both cross country and track & field as part of the Legacy Program and will study next at Lansing Community College. He’s pictured above with (from left) MHSAA executive director Mark Uyl, Mary Paulson, Rottier and MHSAA director of officiating Sam Davis.
Receiving the 36th Vern L. Norris Leadership in Officiating Award was Metro Detroit’s Robert Czech, who is in his 44th year as a registered official and also has assigned officials for more than 35 years, including currently for four Detroit-area leagues.
Referee Magazine also created a commemorative cover celebrating Czech and in advance of this summer’s Officiate Michigan Day.
OMD 2026 will be July 25 at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, followed by the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) Summit from July 26-28.
For information on registration and details on both events, check out the Officiate Michigan Day page.
MHSAA's Davis Selected to Michigan Chapter of National Wrestling Hall of Fame
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 15, 2025
MHSAA Director of Officials Sam Davis – a high school champion wrestler and then highly-regarded official for more than four decades – will be inducted into the Michigan chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame on May 17 in Ann Arbor.
Davis has been selected for his lifetime service to the sport, and his list of contributions continues to grow.
After serving 32 years as a teacher and administrator and then a decade in law enforcement, Davis joined the MHSAA staff in 2017 as part of the officials department. He now directs that department and its efforts to serve more than 9,000 officials across the state.
Davis was an MHSAA Wrestling Finals individual champion at 165 pounds as a senior at Lansing Eastern High School in 1969 and also a significant contributor when the Quakers won the Class A team championship in 1968. He then joined Michigan State University’s wrestling program but suffered an eye injury as a freshman that forced him to give up competing in the sport. However, he instead took up judo, winning state championships in 1980 and 1981 and competing at the U.S. Olympic trials.
Davis previously had officiated wrestling during the 1971-72 season and returned to the high school mat for good in 1981, continuing what has turned into a 45-season career as an MHSAA registered official in the sport. He also officiated National Junior College Athletic Association Finals in 1981 and 1982, and he received the MHSAA’s Vern L. Norris Award in 2015 for his vast contributions to officiating, mentorship and officials education.
After graduating from MSU with bachelor and master’s degrees in 1974, Davis began his teaching career at Lansing Everett High School that fall. He taught history, psychology and U.S. government and coached wrestling and football and later served as an assistant principal at the school. Davis also served as principal at Dwight Rich Middle School and then district athletic director before finishing 32 years in the Lansing School District in 2007.
He then served nearly 11 years with the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office, retiring as a major in December 2017 and soon after joining the MHSAA staff after having contributed several seasons as a Finals official and Official in Charge managing all officials working championship matches during those events. He also has served as a longtime president of the Lansing Wrestling Officials Association.