NFHS Recognizes Eight High School Athletic Directors with Citation Awards

NFHS Citations will be awarded to eight high school athletic directors December 14 in Tampa, Florida, during luncheon festivities at the 56^th annual National Athletic Directors Conference sponsored jointly by the NFHS and the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA).

NFHS Citations are presented annually to outstanding athletic directors in recognition of contributions to interscholastic athletics at the local, state and national levels. State associations nominate athletic directors for NFHS Citations, and the NFHS Board of Directors approves recipients.

The 2025 award recipients are Brian Avery, RAA, director of Champions Together program, Indiana High School Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana; Emily Barkley, CMAA, athletic director, Union Public Schools, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Dave Frazier, CMAA, athletic director, Rutherford (New Jersey)  High School; Lee Gillie, CMAA, athletic director, Salem Hills High School, Salem, Utah; Troy Rice, CMAA, activities and athletic director, Rocky Mountain High School, Meridian, Idaho; Dan Talbot, CMAA, senior director of athletics, Polk County Public Schools, Bartow, Florida; Jack Tarr, CMAA, retired athletic director, Malcolm (Nebraska) Public Schools; and Randy Tevepaugh, CMAA, athletic director, Streetsboro (Ohio) City Schools.  

Following are biographical sketches on the 2025 NFHS Citation recipients:

Brian Avery, RAA
Indianapolis, Indiana

Brian Avery, RAA, has been director of the Champions Together program for the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) since July 1, 2022, and administers and promotes both of the IHSAA’s Unified Sports – Unified Flag Football and Unified Track & Field.

The Champions Together program began in 2012 as a collaborative effort between the IHSAA and Special Olympics Indiana (SOIN) as a means of providing a quality experience of sports training and competition. It brings together high school students with and without disabilities to compete together representing their high school. 

Avery has been the IHSAA Girls Basketball State Finals tournament director since 2023, and assistant to the tournament director for the IHSAA Boys Basketball State Finals since 1992.

Prior to joining the IHSAA, Avery was an athletic director at two Indiana high schools – 11 years at Speedway High School (2011-22) and 11 years at Franklin Central High School (2000-11). He was a teacher/coach at Lawrence Central High School (1988-2000) and Scecina Memorial High School (1983-88) prior to moving into administrative roles.

Avery has been a member of the Indiana Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (IIAAA) Executive Board since 2005 and served as president of that organization in 2016-17.

Avery has been honored by both the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) and the IIAAA numerous times in his career including the NIAAA State Award of Merit in 2009 and IIAAA State Athletic Director of the Year in 2014. He was secretary/treasurer of the Indiana Crossroads Conference and is a former president of Conference Indiana and former Marion County Athletic Association coordinator.

Avery is a 1983 graduate of Marian College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in social studies teacher education. He went on to earn a master's degree in secondary school administration from Butler University in 1990.

A LaPorte, Indiana, native, he is a 1979 graduate of LaPorte High School where he played basketball and ran track for the Slicers. Avery is also a licensed IHSAA official in football and basketball following in the footsteps of his father, George R. Avery, who also was licensed in those sports for 25 years.

Emily Barkley, CMAA
Tulsa, Oklahoma

Emily Barkley, CMAA, is the highly respected athletic director at Union Public Schools in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she has dedicated more than two decades to serving students through athletic administration. She began her career in 2004 as associate athletic director at Union, a role she held until 2012 before advancing to her current position.

Throughout her career, Barkley has shown a remarkable commitment to professional development, earning her CMAA certification in 2016 and completing 14 Leadership Training Courses (LTC).

Barkley has been an active member of the NIAAA since 2004 and has attended more than 15 National Athletic Directors Conferences (NADC). She has participated in numerous committees, including her current role on the NIAAA Board of Directors and the Section 6 representative on the NIAAA DEIB Committee. Additionally, she is on the Quality Program Assessment (QPA) team and was a QPA mentor for a year.

At the state level, Barkley has held multiple leadership roles, including president and treasurer for the Oklahoma Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (OIAAA). She has served on the OIAAA Board of Directors for many years, and she has been a presenter on numerous occasions at the OIAAA state conference.

Within the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA), Barkley has hosted the OSSAA State Cheer Championships several times and the OSSAA State Volleyball Championships one time. Locally, she is a past president and current treasurer for the Frontier Valley Conference, regularly hosting events such as the FVC Varsity Track Meet and pre- and post-season basketball tournaments.

Barkley’s dedication to advancing athletic administration has led to several awards and honors, including the NIAAA Bruce D. Whitehead Distinguished Service Award, several OIAAA awards and an NIAAA Quality Program Award for the Union Athletic Department to become the first school in Oklahoma to receive this recognition. She also has been previously honored as Athletic Director of the Year in Oklahoma.

Dave Frazier, CMAA
Rutherford, New Jersey

For nearly 25 years as an athletic administrator, Dave Frazier, CMAA, has made a mark at the local, state and national levels. Frazier has led the Rutherford (New Jersey) High School athletic department for his entire career, while also working as a coach and teacher at the school.

During his time at Rutherford, the school has added varsity programs for boys and girls lacrosse, and dance team, and also started a Captains Council. Frazier also consistently ranks in the top 10 of NJ.com’s “Top Power Players in New Jersey High School Sports,” helping Rutherford earn the state’s Sportsmanship Award five times.

Locally, Frazier continues to serve as president of the New Jersey Interscholastic Conference, a position he has held since 2010. He has also served as the conference’s swim chair since 2010.

Frazier is heavily involved with both the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) and the Directors of Athletics Association of New Jersey (DAANJ). He was a member of the NJSIAA Executive Committee from 2007 to 2014, including a year as NJSIAA President in 2012-13. Frazier also currently serves on the NJSIAA Advisory Committee as its chair, and on the NJSIAA Controversies Committee.

Currently, Frazier is the president elect of DAANJ and will assume the presidency next year, after also serving as the organization’s treasurer (2023-24) and secretary (2021-22). He also currently serves as chair of the DAANJ Sectional Award of Merit Selection Committee, and is a current member of the DAANJ’s Athletic Director of the Year Selection Committee and the Strategic Plan Committee.

As a 23-year NIAAA member, he has taught Leadership Training Course (LTC) 503 and LTC 506, and personally taken 16 courses and earned his CMAA designation in 2019. From 2020 to 2024, Frazier served a term as an at-large member on the NFHS Board of Directors.

Frazier previously earned the NIAAA Bruce D. Whitehead Distinguished Service Award in 2023 and the DAANJ Bob Hopek Professional Development Award in 2020.

Lee Gillie, CMAA
Salem, Utah

After beginning his career in education as an accomplished soccer coach and teacher, Lee Gillie, CMAA, has become one of the most impactful athletic administrators in Utah.

Gillie led the boys and girls soccer programs at Payson High School from 2002 to 2007 before moving to Salem Hills High School in 2008. In 2016, Gillie became the school’s athletic director and eventually retired from coaching in 2022.

At Salem Hills, Gillie led efforts to add new programs in competitive spirit, girls wrestling, lacrosse and boys volleyball, as well as a number of Unified Sports. The school has also started an athletic hall of fame, built a new artificial turf stadium, and generally rebranded the entire athletic department under his leadership.

In addition, Gillie has quickly become a leader in the Utah Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (UIAAA). He has served terms on the UIAAA Conference Planning Committee, Awards Committee and Scholarship Committee, and is a member of the UIAAA Leadership Training Faculty. In 2023-24, Gillie served as UIAAA president.

Gillie has also served on the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) Soccer Sportsmanship Committee and is president of the UHSAA Soccer Coaches Association.

At the national level, Gillie has attended eight national conferences and earned his CMAA certification in 2020. He has also taken 35 Leadership Training Courses.

Troy Rice, CMAA
Meridian, Idaho

Troy Rice has become a leader in the state of Idaho as he has steadily led Rocky Mountain High School’s athletic/activities department for the past 16 years. In addition to overseeing Rocky Mountain’s interscholastic athletic programs, Rice has served as a tournament manager for more than 50 district tournaments at his school.

Rice’s leadership also includes service to the Southern Idaho Conference as its secretary from 2008 to 2014 and as president from 2019 to 2021.

His tournament management experience extends to the state level as well where he has managed state tournaments in several sports for the Idaho High School Activities Association (IHSAA). That includes 12 years as manager of the state baseball tournament and 10 years as manager of the state soccer tournament. He has also managed IHSAA tournaments in basketball, volleyball, football, softball and track.

Rice currently is the past president of the Idaho Athletic Administrators Association (IAAA) after serving a term as the organization’s president from 2022 to 2024. He has been a member of the IAAA Executive Board since 2017. In addition, Rice has been a workshop moderator at the IAAA Conference for eight years and taught Leadership Training Course 502 at the 2020 conference.

From 2019 to 2023, Rice helped plan the National Athletic Directors Conference (NADC) for the NIAAA and NFHS as a member of the National Conference Advisory Committee and was a conference moderator at the 2023 conference in Nashville. He has served as Idaho’s delegate at the NADC three times and was a member of the NIAAA Strategic Planning Committee in 2024.

In 2024, Rice was named as the Dick Fleischman Award recipient by the IHSAA.

Dan Talbot, CMAA
Bartow, Florida

Dan Talbot has dedicated more than 25 years to advancing interscholastic athletics, leaving a lasting impact on students, coaches and athletic administrators in Florida and beyond.

Since 2022, Talbot has served as senior director of athletics for Polk County Public Schools in Bartow, Florida, following more than six years as senior coordinator of athletics. His earlier career included stops as an athletic director at Winter Haven, Lakeland and DeSoto County high schools.

At the state level, Talbot has been a driving force within the Florida Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (FIAAA), serving on its board of directors since 2018, coordinating all Leadership Training Institute (LTI) courses, and teaching at both the state and national levels. He’s the FIAAA’s president-elect, and will begin his term as president in 2026.

Talbot currently serves as president of the Florida Athletic Coaches Association (FACA) Board of Directors and represents athletic administrators statewide as a member of the Florida High School Athletic Association’s (FHSAA) Athletic Directors Advisory Committee, where he helps shape policy and procedure recommendations.

Talbot’s leadership has been instrumental in Polk County hosting multiple FHSAA state championships, including weightlifting (2023–present), volleyball (2023–present), soccer (2024), basketball (2019-present), and competitive cheer (2020, 2024–present).

Nationally, Talbot is a recognized leader in professional development for athletic administrators. He serves on the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) Coaches Education Committee, is a national faculty member and the Florida state coordinator, and mentors colleagues through the NIAAA Cohort Leadership program after completing the program himself. His achievements have earned him recognition as FIAAA’s Wayne Taylor Distinguished Service Award (2024) and a National Award of Merit recipient (2019). 

FIAAA Executive Director Andy Chiles described Talbot as “the consummate professional” and “at the top of the list” of those he has worked alongside. FHSAA Director Craig Damon commended Talbot’s “nothing is impossible” mindset and his ability to create meaningful professional development opportunities for athletic administrators nationwide.

Jack Tarr, CMAA
Malcolm, Nebraska

When Jack Tarr retired as Malcolm Public Schools’ athletic director, the community held a parade in his honor. Tarr spent 43 years at Malcolm Public Schools, retiring in 2021 after serving the final 30 years of his career as athletic director and assistant principal.

Among his many accomplishments, including facilitating hundreds of tournaments in multiple sports, Tarr was instrumental in Malcolm adding cross country, softball, wrestling, Unified bowling and baseball to its offerings. In the 1980s, Tarr developed and wrote the health curriculum for Malcolm when there was no standard program, including CPR education and certification. He also helped oversee five building projects -- two new schools, one school addition and two athletic complexes -- and was recognized as Teacher of the Year at Malcolm three times.

At the state level, Tarr helped create a mentoring program for new and retired athletic directors through the Nebraska State Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NSIAAA). He has served as a delegate at national meetings for several years, ensuring Nebraskans have a voice on current issues. Tarr has also taught several Leadership Training Courses in Nebraska and, since joining the NSIAAA in 2004, has not missed a state conference.

Tarr has been a member of the Nebraska Coaches Association for more than 30 years and was named the state’s Athletic Director of the Year in 2019. He has coached—or still coaches—volleyball, basketball, football, cross country and track.

Tarr was inducted into the Nebraska School Activities Association Hall of Fame this year and has also received the NSIAAA District 1 Athletic Director of the Year, the NIAAA State Award of Merit and the NSIAAA State Athletic Director of the Year.

The jack-of-all-trades has hardly slowed down in retirement, staying active with Malcolm schools and athletic director organizations. He continues to volunteer at tournaments in several sports, “doing whatever is needed—lines, scorebook, officiating and clock”—and fills in as a substitute teacher when needed. He also continues to serve as the CPR instructor for Malcolm and several other schools.

Randy Tevepaugh, CMAA
Streetsboro, Ohio

Randy Tevepaugh’s leadership and dedication as an athletic director have left a lasting mark on the Streetsboro School District and the state of Ohio at large.

Tevepaugh, who also serves as Streetsboro’s compliance officer, oversees an athletics department that in 2015 received the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA)/Ohio Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (OIAAA) Award of Excellence. He assisted with the design and supervised the construction of Streetsboro’s $4.5 million athletic complex, which was completed in 2017, and has overseen more than 75 OHSAA tournament events.

Over his 19 years as an athletic administrator, Tevepaugh has also spearheaded local initiatives including the creation of the athletic handbook, coaches handbook, and the Streetsboro Athletic Hall of Fame.

Tevepaugh has played an active role in advancing interscholastic athletics for his fellow Ohioans. He has served on the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Board of Directors since 2024.

As a member of the OIAAA Executive Board, he helped expand the Bruce Brown Award program from 26 to 104 recipients in just three years. Additionally, he has served on the Northeast Ohio Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NEOIAAA) Board since 2012 and currently holds the position of president-elect.

Nationally, Tevepaugh’s influence extends through his involvement with the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA), where he serves as Quality Program Assessment Committee chair, mentor and cohort facilitator. His work teaching Leadership Training Courses (LTC) and mentoring athletic administrators reflects his commitment to developing the next generation of athletic leaders.

Tevepaugh’s achievements have been recognized through numerous honors, including the Bruce Brown Award of Excellence (2015, 2021), the NIAAA QPA Exemplary Award of Excellence, and multiple Administrator of the Year awards. His dedication to advancing student-athlete experiences and community engagement was also recognized by the City of Streetsboro, which issued a formal mayoral proclamation in his honor.