UNC no longer tied to high school athletics

After almost a century, the relationship between the UNC system and the N.C. High School Athletic Association is coming to a bittersweet end.

When the UNC system mandated 900 administrative cuts earlier this year, it also told the association to cut a position.

The association’s board of directors didn’t feel that the association could serve its best interests while obeying the mandate, so the two decided together to sever ties.

“You can’t serve two masters. We can’t have the University telling us to do one thing and our board of directors telling us to do another,” said Charlie Adams, executive director of the association.

“We only have 16 people total with six administrators. With 150,000 boys and girls and 24 sports over 386 schools, we just didn’t feel like we could lose any administrators,” Adams said.

The association is not funded by the UNC system. Costs, including the salaries of its 16 employees, are covered with revenue from ticket sales, corporate sponsors and membership dues, Adams said.

“We pay our own way. There is no University money going into our program” he said.

The association coordinates all of the playoff and championship games for the state’s public high schools.

“Whether it’s through UNC, N.C. State or ECU, it’s already coordinated for us by the association,” said Tod Morgan, athletic director at Chapel Hill High School.

The termination of the 97-year relationship will not affect University or high school students, Adams said. High school teams will continue to use University facilities when needed.

“We will still be playing as many of our championships here as we can,” Morgan said.

The University created the association in 1913 to standardize eligibility and playing rules for high school sports throughout the state and to coordinate high school conferences’ playoff and championship game venues.

High school superintendents took over in 1947, but the association and UNC system remained closely associated for the past six decades.

 The 16 association employees still hope to receive state retirement and benefit plans, even though they might not qualify without the affiliation with the UNC system.

The split comes just months before Adams leaves his position, which he has held since 1967. But Adams said the split is not related to him stepping down.

“I think it has more to do with the times, the tough economy, layoffs and the University being under scrutiny for doing the things they are responsible for,” he said.

“I guess maybe the shelf life ran out on us.”



Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.