Biography
I have had the privilege of serving as the Director of Champions Together since its announcement in December, 2012. The partnership between the IHSAA and Special Olympics Indiana was conceived and initiated by the IHSAA Student Advisory Committee in response to a challenge from then Commissioner Bobby Cox to find a way to "give back" to the their schools and communities that support their opportunity to participate in education based athletics.
They responded during the 2nd semester of 2012-13 by raising $7,000 to donacte to Special Olympics Indiana and creating the Unified Champion School banner program to recognize schools that do exemplary work in the #InclusionRevolution. That program was rolled out to all 410 IHSAA member schools in 2013-14 and 24 schools earned the banner. Twelve of those schools have earned the banner every year and proudly hang a "Founding Member" banner in their gym. Over all more than 125 schools now have a Unified Champion School banner handing in their gym.
Also that year the IHSAA SAC recommended that the IHSAA sponsor their first sanctioned state tournament in Unified Track and Field. The Warsaw Tigers became the first IHSAA school to ever win a State Championship in a Unified Sport by winning the 2014 Unified Track and Field Tournament from a field of only 13 schools. We now have a total of more than 200 school teams competing in 4 Unified Sports State Tournaments. The IHSAA sponsors and administers Unified Flag Football in addition to Track and Field and Special Olympics Indiana sponsors Unified Bocce and Unified Bowling.
One of he great honors of the last 8 years has been to meet, observe and even befriend many of the dedicated, passionate and compassionate coaches of Unified Sports. Therefor it has been a true honor to have been able to assist these coaches in forming this coaches association--the first of its kind anywhere. I look forward to continuing this relationship, along with my dear friends Bruce Wolf and Bobby Cox, after my upcoming retirement as Director of Champions Together.