Saverese leaves legacy as AHSAA executive director

The announcement during a press conference at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex came Wednesday that longtime executive director Steve Savarese would retire from the AHSAA (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

Alabama High School Athletic Association executive director Steve Savarese announced plans on Wednesday to step down from the position he has held for the last 15 years effective July 1. Savarese will remain in the position until his replacement has been hired and gone through a training program to prepare him or her for the new position.

Savarese was just the fourth executive director of the 100-year old organization, following Cliff Harper (1948-1966), Herman L. “Bubba” Scott (1966-1991) and Dan Washburn (1991-2007).

“Mr. Washburn left a great foundation for me, Bubba Scott left a great foundation for Mr. Washburn, I hope I’ve left that same foundation for the next executive director and they take it to the next level,” Savarese said. “I think this association will continue to grow and grow. We have great schools and there’s great administrators out there. We have a great staff and I’m sure some of our folks will apply for it. I don’t think they can go wrong. I think whoever will be the next executive director, all of us will do whatever we can to help them be successful.”

When Savarese was hired in 2007, he was somewhat of a surprise selection after a football coaching career at Ensley, Benjamin Russell, Daphne and McGill-Toolen, but the move paid quick dividends with the institution of a revenue sharing plan that provided more than $16 million to the schools and the decision to unify the six (now seven) football state championship games into an event that alternates between Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium and Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Savarese addressed the media at a press conference on Wednesday after presenting his decision to the AHSAA’s Central Board of Control earlier in the day. 

“We think Steve Savarese is the best at his position in the nation,” Central Board president Van Phillips said. “But we will do our due diligence to find his replacement. The Central Board will begin immediately its search for the next executive director. First, as president of the Central Board of Control, I want to thank Steve Savarese personally and publicly for making this association the best high school athletic association in the nation. He is leaving big shoes to fill but all I can ask is for him not to go too far. We will always want and need his advice as we move forward.”

Phillips said a seven-person committee will review applicants to choose the next executive director. Savarese said he would have no input in choosing his successor.

“That’s the board’s job,” Savarese said. “They have seven people and I’m not going to pick my successor. It needs to be an independent group that looks at all factors and they will do that. They’ll do a great job.”

The 68-year-old director’s decision to step down wasn’t a shock. He has served on the National Federation of High Schools’ board of directors and was named the president-elect of the NFHS board for the upcoming 2021-22 year, completing the last accomplishment of a state director that earned national recognition.

“It’s now time for me to devote my time to my family,” he said. “I’ve had an awesome time, teaching, coaching, serving as an administrator, and most humbly serving as the executive director of the AHSAA. To follow icons such as Cliff Harper, Bubba Scott and Dan Washburn has been the greatest honor of my life. Professionally, I would not change anything regarding my career. I genuinely feel as if I’ve never worked a day in my life. I’ve tried to approach each day knowing that nothing worthwhile was ever achieved without enthusiasm. God has truly blessed me.”

While his stern leadership of the organization has occasionally rubbed people the wrong way, there is no question that many of the policies adapted by the AHSAA have transformed the high school governing body over the last decade and a half.

The AHSAA Revenue Share program was initiated for the first time following the 2009-10 school year, contributing approximately $18.9 million through the current school year.

Savarese moved the Super 7 football championships to Bryant-Denny Stadium and Jordan-Hare Stadium on a rotating basis in 2009 and added Birmingham’s new Progressive Stadium to be opened in 2021 into the mix. He reestablished indoor track to the championship program in 2011 with the use of Birmingham’s CrossPlex and added bowling, E-sports and girls’ flag football to the list of championship events.

The AHSAA became one of the first states to develop concussion protocol and practice contact limitation regulations in the sport of football and pitch-count limitations in baseball, protocols that have been praised nationally and copied by many states.

“Technology, when the board hired me, was something they really wanted us to advance and it’s been part of our strategic plan,” Savarese said. “We’ve really tried to do that. I love trying to be at the cutting edge of technology. What I really appreciate is our members’ patience with me, allowing us to institute the new technology and then embracing it.”

The AHSAA was at the forefront of developing instant replay for high school football with DVSports and initiated GoFan ticketing for high school events which moved the ticketing system online, helping to maintain a revenue stream during COVID-19. The AHSAA also moved to bring more of its services online, first through C2C and more recently through Dragonfly, a product that is one of the most advanced in the country in allowing coaches and student-athletes to put their information in an online portal.

Another part of Savarese’s media extension is the National Federation of High Schools’ network. He established the AHSAA as the first state association to join the network and has served as one of its board of directors, chosen as the president-elect for 2021-22. He currently serves as just the second chairman of the NFHS Network board of directors in the network’s history.

Through it all, Savarese said, the focus was on the student-athlete.

“Students were the highlight of my career and those relationships remain honored and treasured,” he said. “I know I am a better person because of everyone I was blessed to work with, faculty, administrators, and support staff -- particularly the young people.”