Four outstanding former high school athletes, including Joe Mauer, a three-sport standout at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minnesota, before his celebrated career with the Minnesota Twins, highlight the 2024 class of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) National High School Hall of Fame.
Joining the four former athletes in this year’s class are four highly successful high school coaches, two former state association administrators and one contest official. The 11 honorees will be inducted July 1 during the 41st induction ceremony of the National High School Hall of Fame, which will be held at the 105th NFHS Summer Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.
At Cretin-Derham Hall High School, Joe Mauer batted .567 with 43 home runs and struck out only once in 222 at-bats. He led Cretin-Derham Hall to a state football title as a junior and to a state baseball title as a senior.
The other three former athletes in the 2024 class are Takeo Spikes, who as a two-way football player (tight end, linebacker) helped Washington County High School in Sandersville, Georgia to a 15-0 mark and a state championship in 1994; Tyrone Wheatley, who was one of the greatest multi-sport high school athletes in Michigan history during his career at Dearborn Heights Robichaud High School in the late 1980s; and Dot Ford Burrow, who scored 82 points in a basketball game for Smithville (Mississippi) High School in 1949-50 when she averaged almost 50 points a game and was making headlines long before her grandson, Joe Burrow.
The four coaches in this year’s class have coached an astounding combined 194 years (48.5 average) and claimed a total of 43 state championships in volleyball, football, swimming and baseball. These four remarkable individuals include Paula Kirkland, who was won 1,088 volleyball matches at Dorman High School in Roebuck, South Carolina, and led her teams to 15 state championships in 43 years; Gary Rankin, the winningest high school football coach in Tennessee history during his 42-year career in which he has led teams to 17 state championships at four different schools; Roy Snyder, who started the swimming program at Wilson High School in West Lawn, Pennsylvania, in 1964 and has 611 victories and four state championships in an amazing 59 years; and Ronald Vincent, who won the 1,000th baseball game of his career last year at J. H. Rose High School in Greenville, North Carolina and has led his teams to seven state titles in 50 years.
The official in this year’s class is David Gore, a baseball and football official from Norman, Oklahoma, for 37 and 35 years, respectively, who officiated nine Oklahoma Secondary School
Activities Association state football championship games.
The administrators in this year’s class are Mike Colbrese, who retired in 2019 after 37 years as an administrator in three state high school associations, including the final 26 years as executive director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, and who had major contributions to NFHS committees and boards; and Marie Ishida, the first female president and first female executive director of the California Interscholastic Federation who had major contributions at the state level and nationally with the NFHS.
Following is biographical information on the 11 inductees in the 2024 class of the NFHS National High School Hall of Fame.
ATHLETES
Dot Ford Burrow
Mississippi
The top scorer in the history of girls basketball in Mississippi? You have to go back long before Title IX was passed to a small town in the northeast part of the state. In the 1949-50 season in the rural town of Smithville, Dorothy (Dot) Ford averaged almost 50 points per game, which included individual games of 82 and 72 points.
In that remarkable season, the 5-10 Ford scored 1,481 points in 30 games as a senior at Smithville, a 49.5 average, topped by her record 82-point performance in Smithville’s 88-39 win over Caledonia in February 1950. In three regional tournament games as a senior, she averaged 52 points per contest. For the entire season, she averaged 1.76 points per minute.
In addition to her individual games of 82 and 72 points, Ford registered games of 69, 68, 66, 64 (twice), 58 (twice), 56 and 52 (twice).
In 1950, Smithville’s population was 419, but people came from all over the state, with crowds of more than 1,000 in the small gym to see Ford play. One opponent – Amory High School – put a player on another player’s shoulders to try and stop Ford from scoring – she still managed 52 points. In 2020, Smithville named the girls basketball locker room “Dot Burrow Locker Room.”
Ford played her freshman season at Itawamba High School in Fulton, Mississippi, and helped her team to the Mississippi Girls High School State Championship. She then played three years at Smithville High and was the leading scorer each season. She was a three-time All-Monroe County selection and was all-district and all-state as a senior.
When Ford’s future husband, James Burrow, was a basketball player at Mississippi State University, he told his teammates about his girlfriend back in Smithville who was averaging 50 points a game. “Nobody believed me, so I took a couple of them to a game when Smithville played near Starkville in Hamilton. Well, she scored 72 that night,” James said.
When Dot and James were married, it set the stage for future Burrow athletic prominence. Their son, John, was a football player at the University of Mississippi, and their son, Jimmy, was a starter on the national football championship team at the University of Nebraska. And Jimmy’s son? That would be Joe Burrow, the Heisman Trophy winner from LSU and one of the top quarterbacks in the National Football League with the Cincinnati Bengals.
An all-state basketball player in Ohio, Burrow was particularly proud of his grandmother’s accomplishments. When someone mentioned to Burrow that Kobe Bryant once scored 81 points in a game, Burrow replied, “Yeah, but Kobe’s still one point shy of my grandma!”
“(My grandmother) was an incredible athlete and a generational basketball player, and is arguably the best athlete in the family,” Burrow said. “Knowing how great she was motivated me to be the best I could be in all sports. This drive for excellence has helped me achieve my lifelong dream of becoming a quarterback in the NFL.”
Joe Mauer
Minnesota
Joe Mauer was a three-sport standout in football, basketball and baseball at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minnesota, from 1998 to 2001, and ranks as one of Minnesota’s most celebrated athletes of all time.
In football, he led Cretin-Derham Hall to two consecutive Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) championship games, winning the Prep Bowl title in his junior year in 1999. In those two seasons as the team’s quarterback, Mauer threw for nearly 6,000 yards and 73 touchdowns.
In basketball, as the team’s starting small forward, he was a triple threat as a scorer, rebounder and playmaker. He finished his career with more than 1,000 points and averaged more than 20 points a game as a senior.
However, it was baseball where Mauer shined most brightly. In 222 at-bats during his high school career, he batted .567 with 43 home runs and 170 runs batted in and, remarkably, he struck out only one time! As a senior, he led Cretin-Derham Hall to the MSHSL Class AA state championship while batting .605 and hitting a home run in seven consecutive games.
Mauer was the USA Today National Player of the Year in both football and baseball – an unbelievable feat. He was a Parade All-American in football and two-time all-state in basketball. He was the youngest player ever selected to the U.S. Junior National Baseball team as a 16-year-old, and he later became the No. 1 ranked high school catcher in the nation in the 2001 graduating class.
Although he gave a verbal commitment to play football at Florida State University, the Minnesota Twins selected Mauer as the first overall pick of the 2001 Major League Baseball draft, and the rest is history.
Mauer played 15 years with the Twins and had a stellar career, which led to his selection to the Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year. He will be inducted this summer in Cooperstown. As one of the sport’s all-time top catchers, Mauer won three batting titles (most ever by a catcher), was named to six all-star teams, won five Silver Slugger and three Gold Glove awards, and was selected American League Most Valuable Player in 2009. He led the Twins to four playoff appearances.
Mauer finished his career with a .306 average, topped by his MVP season in 2009 when he batted .365 with 28 home runs and 96 RBI. He also batted .347 in 2006 and .328 in 2008.
In 2018, Mauer recorded the 2,000th hit of his career, joining Rod Carew and Kirby Puckett as the only Twins to reach that mark. He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated twice, and he garnered the most votes of any player for the 2010 All-Star Game. In 2022, Mauer was inducted into the MSHSL Hall of Fame.
Mauer and his wife, Maddie, are active in the community and work diligently to make a meaningful impact on the lives of others. They are active supporters who assist individuals with disabilities at Gillette Children’s Hospital and Healthcare in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota.
Takeo Spikes
Georgia
During his four years at Washington County High School in Sandersville, Georgia, Takeo (Ta-KEY-o) Spikes was one of the top two-way players in the state’s history. As a linebacker and tight end, Spikes helped his school to a 41-3 record, including a 15-0 mark and a state championship as a senior in 1994.
Spikes’ Washington County teams won three regional championships and finished first, second and a state semifinalist during his final three years. The 1994 state championship team scored 641 points (42.7 per game and a state record at the time) and is still considered one of the top teams in state history.
Spikes was one of the biggest reasons that Washington County achieved that lofty status. On offense, he caught 40 passes, 22 of which went for touchdowns, for 751 yards. On the defensive side, he had 238 tackles (including an amazing 33 for losses), three interceptions and two blocked punts. Not surprisingly, he was named Player of the Year by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Middle Georgia Player of the Year by the Macon Telegraph.
Other honors include two-time all-state, 1994 Parade All-American, 1994 USA Today All-American, Georgia Defensive Player of the Year, three-time first team all-region and 1994 Region Player of the Year.
In a 2007 ranking by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution of the state’s all-time best high school football players, Spikes was No. 7 in the Top 25 poll, which was headed by Herschel Walker, another member of the National High School Hall of Fame.
“Takeo was one of the most popular students in school among his academic teachers and school administrators,” said Rick Tomberlin, Spikes’ football coach at Washington County. “In my observation, which goes beyond 40-plus years, I have never witnessed a better high school player in any classification than Takeo Spikes. Takeo was our team leader, our bell cow! Takeo was the best team leader I have ever observed.”
Spikes also competed in track and field and earned four letters. He was a multi-event participant and received regional and state honors in his final three years.
At the next level, Spikes was a three-year starter at Auburn University and a two-time All-Southeastern Conference selection. In 1997, he led the Tigers with 136 tackles and helped Auburn advance to the SEC championship game, in which he was named most valuable player.
Spikes left Auburn after his junior year and was the 13th overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. He played five years with the Bengals, followed by stints with Buffalo, Philadelphia, San Francisco and San Diego. He was first team all-pro in 2004 with Buffalo and two-time Pro Bowl (2003, 2004).
In 15 years, Spikes recorded 29 sacks and had 19 interceptions. He is one of seven linebackers in NFL history to start more than 200 games (219).
Following his playing career, Spikes earned his degree from Auburn in 2016. He has been inducted into the Alabama and Georgia Sports Halls of Fame. He is a mentor to middle school and high school students at his annual TKO Camps.
Tyrone Wheatley
Michigan
Tyrone Wheatley was one of the top multi-sport athletes in Michigan high school sports history during his days at Dearborn Heights Robichaud High School in Dearborn, Michigan. When it came to the sports of football, basketball, and track and field, few have achieved the level of Tyrone Wheatley.
In three seasons as a running back on the football team, Wheatley ran for 4,257 yards and 67 touchdowns, including 2,010 yards and 33 touchdowns as a senior in 1990. That season, in addition to his duties as running back, Wheatley also played quarterback at times, defensive back and was the punter, kicker and kick returner. He led Robichaud to its only state championship in 1990, when he ran for 168 yards, three touchdowns, kicked three extra points, punted and made 13 tackles in the title game.
In basketball, he averaged 14 points and 16 rebounds as a senior and was honorable mention on the All-Metro Detroit team that included Chris Webber, Jalen Rose and Voshon Lenard on the first team.
While his football and basketball accomplishments were exceptional, he took track and field to yet another level. In perhaps the most dominant track career of any Michigan high school athlete, Wheatley won nine Michigan High School Athletic Association individual championships in his final three years.
As a sophomore, he broke a state finals record that had stood for 17 years with a 23-10¾ effort in the long jump, and he tied the Class B meet record with a 10.5 clocking in the 100 meters.
In his unprecedented junior season, Wheatley became the first Michigan athlete in 38 years to win four titles (100, 200, 110 hurdles, long jump) and scored 40 of his team’s 49 points to help Robichaud to the Class B title.
Wheatley completed his high school track career in 1991 with three additional Class B individual titles, winning the long jump and 100 meters for the third consecutive year, along with the 110 hurdles.
According to Mick McCabe, who has been covering high school sports for the Detroit Free Press for more than 50 years, Wheatley was at the top of the all-time list.
“. . . I have covered every high-level athlete in the state. Earvin (Magic) Johnson, Derek Jeter, Dathan Ritzenhein, Dena Head, Jerome Bettis, Shane Battier, Antonio Gates, Jalen Rose, Charles Rogers, Rickea Jackson, Dan Majerle . . . But of all the great athletes Michigan has produced over the last 50 years, one stands above the rest: Tyrone Wheatley.”
Wheatley was a consensus all-state football selection as a defensive back as a junior in 1989 and running back as a senior in 1990. He was named to the Parade All-American team as a defensive back in 1990.
Wheatley continued his multiple-sport career at the University of Michigan, where, in football, he ran for 4,178 yards and scored 53 touchdowns. He ranks fifth on the Wolverines’ career rushing list. In track and field, he was Big Ten Conference outdoor champion and All-American while earning three letters.
Wheatley was drafted in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft by the New York Giants and played 10 years, concluding his career with the Oakland Raiders. His best season was 2000 with Oakland when he rushed for 1,046 yards and scored nine touchdowns.
After several coaching stops after his playing career, Wheatley recently completed his first season as head football coach at Wayne State University in Detroit.
COACHES
Paula Kirkland
South Carolina
Paula Kirkland recently completed her 43rd season as girls volleyball coach at Dorman High School in Roebuck, South Carolina, and she did it in style – winning her 15th South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) State Volleyball Championship.
Kirkland became the volleyball coach at Dorman – her alma mater – in 1980 and won her first state title in 1990. She won three consecutive titles from 1990 to 1992, and also won back-to-back-to-back championships from 1995 to 1997, followed by four titles in five years from 2000 to 2004.
Three years ago, Kirkland passed the 1,000-victory mark and currently stands at 1,088-173-3 – an amazing winning percentage of 86.3. She is second all-time in victories in South Carolina and 11th nationally among active coaches according to the NFHS’ National High School Sports Record Book.
Kirkland’s teams have come through in the clutch as the 15 state titles have been accomplished in only 18 trips to the state finals. She also has claimed 32 regional titles in 40 years.
After graduating from Winthrop University in 1980, Kirkland applied for a job at her alma mater and received an offer with one caveat – she had to coach volleyball, a sport she had never played. She took a squad that was 4-12 the previous season and recorded a 14-4 mark in her first season and the rest is history.
“My name is just at the bottom of the roster as the coach,” Kirkland said. “All those names at the top of the roster, all those players since we started building this program in 1980, they’ve all played a part in that success. None of it could have been accomplished without them, and thank goodness it’s them out there on the floor making it happen, because I can’t play a lick.”
Kirkland has been Region Volleyball Coach of the Year 13 times and South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association (SCACA) Volleyball Coach of the Year three times. She previously was NFHS National Volleyball Coach of the Year, Spartanburg Herald-Journal Volleyball Coach of the Year 12 times, and she was inducted into the South Carolina Coaches Hall of Fame in 2004. Three years ago, Kirkland was named to MaxPreps’ list of the 50 greatest female high school coaches from all 50 states. She was South Carolina’s representative.
For eight years during the 1990s, Kirkland doubled as the school’s girls basketball coach. She posted a 122-68 record in eight years with a best mark of 25-3 in 1993-94. In 1994-95, her team lost in the SCHSL Upper-State finals.
Kirkland has been active in the American Volleyball Coaches Association and was volleyball chairperson of the SCACA. She assumed leadership of the Tournament of Champions a number of years ago and has kept the tournament going strong. Among her many successful players at Dorman is Thayer Hall, who played at the University of Florida.
Nationally, Kirkland just concluded a four-year term on the NFHS Volleyball Rules Committee.
Gary Rankin
Tennessee
Gary Rankin is the winningest high school football coach in Tennessee history during his outstanding 42-year career at four schools in the Volunteer State. After a 13-1 season in 2023 at Boyd Buchanan High School in Chattanooga, which culminated with a second-place finish in the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) playoffs, Rankin’s all-time record stands at 486-85, which is fourth nationally among active coaches (and seventh all-time) according to the NFHS’ National High School Sports Record Book.
Rankin’s amazing record computes to a winning percentage of 85.2, and the 85 losses is an average of only two a year for his entire career. Rankin has recorded seven undefeated seasons and won 17 state titles and finished second seven other times. He also has coached 19 Mr. Football recipients along the way. And he has been successful at every stop in his five-decade journey.
Rankin began his football coaching career in 1982 at Smith County High School in Carthage, where he had a 58-33 win-loss record in eight years and coached one Mr. Football honoree.
Rankin then moved to Murfreesboro and coached Riverside High School for 16 years (1990-2005), compiling a 194-25 record (88 winning percentage) and winning four state titles and finishing second five other times. He coached three undefeated teams at Riverside and was 97-5 in region games.
During the next 16 years (2006-21) at Alcoa High School, Rankin enjoyed the most success of his illustrious career. His teams won 215 and lost only 21 in 16 years, which computes to an unbelievable 91.1 percent. He coached three undefeated teams and won 13 TSSAA state championships, including eight in a row from 2015 to 2022. In 16 years at Alcoa, Rankin coached 10 Mr. Football recipients.
Rankin accepted the head coaching position at Boyd Buchanan in Chattanooga in 2022 and was 7-4 in his first season and 13-1 last year – a 20-5 mark to start his fourth high school coaching venture.
Among numerous honors, Rankin was inducted into the TSSAA Hall of Fame in 2011, the Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame in 2018 and the Tennessee Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2014. He was EA Sports National Coach of the Year in 2005 and National High School Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2006. In 2021, he received the American Football Coaches Association Regional Power of Influence Award for being a role model and mentor to coaches nationwide.
“With all of the accolades, the most important measure of success with Coach Rankin is the type of impact he has had on the lives of the thousands of players he has coached,” said Mark Reeves, TSSAA executive director. “He is a man of integrity who expects nothing less than the absolute best from his kids.”
Roy Snyder
Pennsylvania
Roy Snyder started the swimming program at Wilson High School in West Lawn, Pennsylvania, in 1964, and he remains the boys swimming coach 60 years later at the age of 86.
In his first 59 years at Wilson High School, Snyder has led his teams to 611 wins and only 114 loses, a remarkable 84 winning percentage. He has won 40 Berks League championships, 23 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) District 3 titles and four PIAA Class AAA state championships. Under Snyder’s leadership, Wilson has had more than 300 All-American swimmers.
Among those 300 were six Olympic trials qualifiers, two national high school record-holders and one Olympian – Kristy Kowal, a silver medalist in the 200 breaststroke at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia.
In an amazing 20 of Snyder’s 59 seasons, his boys teams have been undefeated in the regular season. He has coached 15 individual PIAA state champions, and in a consistency accomplishment akin to Cal Ripken, Wilson High School has had a team represented at every PIAA State Swimming Championship since 1965 – Snyder’s second year and a streak of 58 consecutive years.
During his amazing career at Wilson, Snyder has filled other roles at the school. For 12 years he was the water polo coach, compiling a 125-31 record and coaching 20 all-Americans. He was the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (NISCA) National Water Polo chair from 1978 to 1983. As chair, Snyder worked with the NFHS to develop the first rules book and instituted the All-American selection process still used today.
In 1984, he added the duties of athletic director at Wilson and served in that position for 20 years.
Snyder previously has been inducted into at least seven other halls of fame, including the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, Berks County Sports Hall of Fame, Wilson Athletic Hall of Fame, East Stroudsburg University Athletic Hall of Fame, Pennsylvania Aquatic Hall of Fame, Berks County Aquatic Hall of Fame and the NISCA Hall of Fame.
He also was Pennsylvania Swimming Coach of the Year and Berks County Swimming Coach of the Year on numerous occasions, and the swimming facility at Wilson High School is aptly named the Roy G. Snyder Natatorium.
Snyder has been an administrator with the Central Penn League for 57 years, and he is a past president of the Pennsylvania Swim Coaches Association. He founded the Wilson Relays and initiated the Wilson Athletic Hall of Fame and the Berks County Aquatic Hall of Fame. He has been a member of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Berks County Sports Hall of Fame for more than 25 years and is currently serving as president.
“In addition to Roy’s impressive coaching skills, he is a mentor and a role model for all of his swimmers,” said Drew Kaufmann, director of athletics for the Wilson School District. “He is known for instilling discipline, teamwork and sportsmanship, and for creating an environment where his swimmers not only excel in the pool, but also develop into responsible, confident and resilient individuals.”
Ronald Vincent
North Carolina
Now in his 51st season as the baseball coach at J. H. Rose High School in Greenville, North Carolina, Ronald Vincent has become one of the most successful coaches in the history of the sport. In April of 2023, Rose achieved a level few have ever reached when he won the 1,000th game of his storied career.
Beginning the 2023 season (his 50th at his alma mater) with a 985-292 record, Vincent claimed No. 1,000 on April 11, 2023, with a victory over Jacksonville to push his all-time mark to 1,000-295 in 54 years overall. Prior to accepting the position at his alma mater in 1973, Vincent was baseball coach at Farmville (North Carolina) Central High School for four years.
Vincent is the all-time leader in baseball coaching victories in North Carolina and is in the top 10 nationally, and he has led his teams at Rose to seven North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) state championships. His first title came two years after he started in 1975, and the last was the 2021 championship in a shortened season due to the pandemic.
Vincent led Rose to state titles in 1997 with a 26-2 record and 1999 with an unblemished 28-0 mark. He then won back-to-back championships in 2003 and 2004 with 26-2 and 28-5 records. Vincent’s other state title came in 2008 with a 28-3 final mark.
Baseball, however, is just the beginning of Vincent’s contributions to Rose High School the past 50 years. He was an assistant football coach for more than 30 years and was a part of five state championships teams (1975, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006). He was a teacher at Rose from 1973 to 2009, served as the school’s athletic director for four years in the late 1990s, and has also coached basketball and wrestling at various times.
And it goes much deeper than that according to Clay Medlin, the school’s athletic director.
“Ronald Vincent . . . is much more than a coach. He’s a leader in the community. He’s a Boy Scout advisor, he’s a member of the boards of directors for multiple youth organizations, and he’s a staple at J. H. Rose High School,” Medlin said. “He’s found at school almost every day doing whatever it is that needs to be done – painting the football and soccer fields in the morning while cutting the grass in the afternoon. He also is keeping the clock for basketball games in the winter, and helping the lacrosse and softball coaches fix their fields in the spring.”
Vincent was inducted into the North Carolina Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2010 and the NCHSAA Hall of Fame in 2014. During the NCHSAA’s Centennial Celebration in 2013, Vincent was selected as one of the “100 Coaches to Remember.” He was the Mid-Atlantic Baseball Coach of the Year in 1999 and the NFHS Section 3 Coach of the Year in 2013.
In 2003, Vincent was awarded the NC Order of the Long Leaf Pine, which is North Carolina’s highest civilian honor, and in 2004, the fieldhouse at J. H. Rose High School was named in his honor.
OFFICIAL
David Gore
Oklahoma
David Gore has been one of Oklahoma’s leaders in officiating for almost 50 years. He retired as an active baseball official in 2014 after 37 years, and he officiated his last football game in 2015 after a stellar 35-year career.
Gore worked more than 1,000 baseball games, in addition to 49 playoff tournament assignments and 29 state tournaments. He also worked 594 summer games at the high school level. He also was a slow-pitch softball official for six years (2008-13).
At the collegiate level, Gore was a small college football official for eight years in the 1990s and a college baseball umpire from 1977 to 2001.
While his baseball contributions were outstanding, his football efforts have been legendary in the Sooner State. Gore officiated 593 games in 35 years, including 69 playoff assignments. He had the honor of officiating nine Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association state championship games, including one in his final year on the field in 2015.
Known as an icon of football officiating in the state of Oklahoma, Gore has been the state’s rules interpreter since 2007. In this role, he conducts presentations on rules changes for coaches and officials across the state every year.
In addition, he is the state area coordinator for the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The 17 area coordinators communicate with the state supervisor of officials concerning current issues, playoff assignment recommendations, and local association concerns.
Gore previously served as technical advisor for the Oklahoma City Metro Officials Association, which has more than 200 football members. In that role, he conducted weekly meetings during the summer months to discuss rules and mechanics.
Gore served a four-year term on the Oklahoma Officials Association Executive Committee (2005-2008), which included one year as vice-president. From 1990 to 1993, he was president of the Oklahoma City Metro Officials Association, with more than 300 members in football, basketball, baseball and softball.
Nationally, Gore served a term on the NFHS Football Game Officials Manual Committee (2018-21). He is known as a walking encyclopedia of knowledge when it comes to high school football rules. Mike Whaley, former OSSAA associate director, said Gore’s knowledge of the NFHS Football Rules Book exceeds every official he has ever known.
Since 1998, Gore has been a part of the University of Oklahoma basketball scorer’s table crew, serving as official scorer for women’s games since 1998 and for the men’s team since 2020. He also has been a football clock operator for the Big 12 Conference since 2008, and he was selected to serve as clock operator for the 2021 College Football Championship game in Miami.
While officiating has been Gore’s avocation, he was a lifelong educator during his professional career. He retired from the Norman Public Schools in 2007 after serving as a classroom teacher for 17 years, a building administrator for 13 years and district athletic director for eight years. He also coached football and basketball at West Mid High School and Norman High School.
In 2000, Gore was the Oklahoma Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (OIAAA) Athletic Director of the Year and received the State Award of Merit from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA).
ADMINISTRATORS
Mike Colbrese
Washington
Mike Colbrese retired in 2019 after 37 years as an administrator in three state high school associations, including the final 26 years as executive director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA). Alongside his work in Montana, Wyoming and Washington during those years, Colbrese had significant contributions to the NFHS through his service on numerous committees and boards.
After 11 years as a high school English teacher, five years as assistant director of the Montana High School Association and six years as commissioner of the Wyoming High School Activities Association, Colbrese joined the WIAA as executive director in 1993.
During his 26 years leading the WIAA, Colbrese assisted in writing and lobbying for passage of the nation’s first concussion law (Zachary Lystad Law), and he developed a policy for transgender students’ participation in high school sports, which became a national model.
In addition, Colbrese developed a process to require people of color and female representation on WIAA committees, and he started a WIAA Native American Advisory Committee, with representation on the WIAA Executive Board.
Nationally, Colbrese had immense contributions to the NFHS, beginning with his work on several rules committees. He was a member of the Football Rules Committee for 27 years (1982-2008), which included 13 years on the Football Game Officials Manual Committee and eight years as the committee chair.
In other NFHS rules committee work, Colbrese was a member of the NFHS Basketball Rules Committee (1991-93), and he served two separate terms on the NFHS Track and Field Rules Committee – one as a member (1990-04) and one as chair (2003-07).
Colbrese served two terms on the NFHS Board of Directors – one while with the Wyoming association (1987-88) and another during his time in Washington (2008-12). He also was a member of two NFHS Strategic Planning Committees (1996-99 and 2005-08).
Colbrese devoted eight years to the NFHS’ sportsmanship efforts in the 1980s and 1990s. He was a member of the NFHS Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Committee for eight years (1989-97), including the final four years as chair. During this time, he assisted with the NFHS’ Be A Sport Program as well as the work with college and professional sports organizations through the National Sportsmanship Committee.
Other national-level service included membership on the NFHS Sanctioning Committee, NFHS Summer Meeting Advisory Committee and chair of the NFHS Coaches Education Review Committee (1991-95).
As he concluded his career in 2018-2019, Colbrese was among a group of state association administrators who spearheaded efforts to promote and protect high school football.
Colbrese has been inducted into six previous halls of fame, including the Wyoming Music Educators Hall of Fame, the Wyoming Athletic Directors Hall of Fame, the Washington Music Educators Hall of Fame, the Washington Officials Association Hall of Fame, the Washington Athletic Directors Hall of Fame and the WIAA Hall of Fame.
In addition, he received the NFHS Citation award for service to state associations in 2019.
Since retiring, Colbrese has returned to the fields and courts as a football, basketball and baseball/softball official. He also has led the development of the Washington State Football Coalition to promote the positive benefits of youth and high school football.
Marie Ishida
California
Marie Ishida retired from her trailblazing 41-year career in education in 2012, including the final 11 years as the first female executive director of the California Interscholastic Federation. Her time as head of the CIF followed another first in 1994 when Ishida was elected as the first female president of the CIF.
Ishida served on the CIF Executive Committee from 1989 to 1998, including her two-year term as president (1994-96). She was CIF president in 1995 during the formation and implementation of the organization’s strategic plan. Under Ishida’s leadership, the CIF changed both philosophically and governance-wise, becoming a service organization to member schools.
During her time as CIF executive director, Ishida was responsible for implementing a state championship in football, as well as soccer and girls wrestling. She also played a key role in the CIF negotiating a 15-year deal with Spectrum (previously Time Warner) to televise regional and state championship events in boys and girls sports. She also championed the promotion of women in leadership roles such as CIF officers, staff and tournament directors.
At the same time she was positively impacting high school sports and activities in California, Ishida was giving her time and talents at the national level as well. She served two separate terms on the NFHS Board of Directors, first as an at-large member (1998-2002) and then as the Section 7 representative (2006-10). She was only the third member from the state of California to serve on the NFHS Board of Directors.
Ishida also served on the NFHS Foundation Board of Directors for six years (2005-11), and she was a member of the NFHS Strategic Planning Committee.
Prior to joining the CIF state office in 2001, Ishida was involved with two CIF section offices. She was president of the CIF-Central Coast Section from 1989 to 1991 and was a manager for the girls basketball championships within the CIF-Southern Section from 1976 to 1978.
Ishida began her career as a teacher and coach at Faye Ross Junior High School in Artesia, California, in 1971. From 1974 to 1979, she worked at Artesia High School as a teacher, coach, assistant athletic director (1975-79) and assistant dean of students (1976-79).
Ishida was an administrative intern for the CIF Central Coast Section from 1979 to 1980 before becoming the assistant principal at Santa Cruz High School, a position she held from 1980 to 1986. From 1986 to 1995, Ishida was principal of Carmel High School.
In 1995, she accepted the position of assistant superintendent of human resources for the Santa Cruz City Schools and remained in that position until joining the CIF state office in 2001.
Ishida received the NFHS Outstanding Service Award in 1997 and the NFHS Citation in 2014. She was the recipient of the CIF Extraordinary Service Award as well as the William S. Rockwell Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor of the California Coaches Association.
Ishida served on the NFHS Softball Rules Committee and the NFHS Hall of Fame Screening Committee, and she was the CIF state rules interpreter for softball in the early 1980s.
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2023-24 Area Conference Schedules: Conference and Team Links
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College Athlete Roundup! We want to recognize student-athletes from the area who are competing at the college level. Send us information on college athletes from the area with our simple form HERE
Where are they Now? We feature athletes and difference makers from the past, standouts in sports who excelled over the years and have moved on. Know of a former athlete, coach, or difference maker who we should feature? Know of a former standout competitor whose journey beyond central Wisconsin sports is one we should share? Send us information on athletes and difference makers of the past with our simple form HERE
Baked or Fried! We also feature difference makers throughout central Wisconsin: coaches, booster club leaders, administration, volunteers, you name it. Send us your nominations for who you’d like us to interview HERE
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