Published: July 22, 2006 10:18 pm            

Leaving big shoes to fill

Dan Washburn could probably relate to Doug Barfield and Ray Perkins when he took over as executive director of the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

Herman "Bubba" Scott had pretty much reached legendary status when he decided to step down in 1990 as the head of the AHSAA, a position he had held since the mid 1960s.

Scott directed the AHSAA during a difficult time of social change. The AHSAA and its members dealt with the issue of integration early in his tenure. It was also dealing with the tigress known as Title IX, which saw girls go from competing in "P.E. fun days" to full fledged athletic competition.

He handed Washburn a healthy organization with established playoff formats in football, boys basketball and baseball.

The largest classification played its state football title game at Legion Field, while the smaller ones played at the site of one of the participants. At least a share of the boys state basketball tournament had been held in Tuscaloosa for decades (the University of Alabama started sharing the duties with Auburn in the final few years of Scott's reign and the early part of Washburn's).

The baseball championship series was also held at the site of one of the participants. Only the girls basketball championship was a nomad, bouncing from Birmingham to Decatur and parts in between.

Washburn could have taken the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" route and wouldn't have gotten much criticism.

The AHSAA, under his leadership, didn't take that approach.

It completely revamped the way its championships were held and caught a lot of criticism for it in the initial stages. What it has come up with is now a model for the rest of the nation.

It didn't come easily.

Moving all of the championship games in football to Legion Field seemed like a no-brainer, but critics argued against taking title games away from small communities around the state.

Giving players from towns like Addison and Oneonta to play at a venue where gridiron legends Joe Namath and Bo Jackson once trod seemed to outweigh the draw of having the game in a small community.

It also shortened the trip for visiting teams and exposed the games and the players to far more people. Sure, the games in the past drew fans of other schools, but it is a lot easier of a trip for a high school football fan from Cullman to make a trip to Birmingham than it is to take one to Lineville.

The Super Six has also become somewhat of a high school football coaches convention and has succeeded beyond anyone's expectations. It has also extended the life of Legion Field long after the Alabama Crimson Tide, the SEC Championship Game and Olympic Soccer have left the building.

The biggest resistance came with moving the boys' and girls' basketball games to one site and making it a final four format. The AHSAA met opposition from both Auburn and Tuscaloosa, which didn't want to give up their shares of the boys' tournaments.

There were also naysayers who didn't think combining the boys' and girls' tournaments was a good idea. The biggest fight may have come from those who didn't want to see the boys' tournament trimmed down from eight to four.

To them, it was cutting the chance for a school to experience a state tournament atmosphere in half.

In reality, the opposite turned out to be true thanks to the regional format set up to go along with basketball's final four.

"It actually doubled the state tournament atmosphere," Washburn once told me at the Northwest Regional of the atmosphere experienced at Wallace State Community College, Jacksonville State, South Alabama and Troy on the road to the semifinals and finals in Birmingham.

The biggest accomplishment of moving the boys' and girls' tournaments to Birmingham was the fact that it put the girls on equal footing with the boys. It is an experience that players from Cold Springs, Hanceville, West Point, Vinemont and St. Bernard will tell you they won't soon forget.

Moving state tournaments to one site didn't end with the two largest revenue sports. Baseball, softball, soccer and volleyball are all at venues with top-notch facilities that allow them maximum exposure to their sports that just wasn't there in the past.

There have been other major accomplishments under Washburn's administration such as the North-South All-Star Week competition sponsored by the athletic directors and coaches that have also become a tremendous success.

Washburn clearly took a stable organization and made it one of the best in the nation.

He did a very good job filling Scott's shoes.

When he steps down next summer, he will leave some very big shoes to fill on his own.

ä Scott Turner is the managing editor of The Cullman Times. His column appears in the place of Publisher Ed Darling's column. Darling's column will return next week.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.