It was perhaps the most dire time ever for the state’s governing body for high school sports.
In 2010, the State Commission of Investigation released a blistering report highlighting waste and abuses at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. The legislature had enacted a law that drastically reduced what the association could charge for postseason ticket prices, crippling revenue. And lawmakers were on the attack, threatening to have the NJSIAA absorbed into the School Boards Association.
Steve Timko was only four years into his tenure as Executive Director of the NJSIAA and suddenly the association he was leading faced a crisis like never before.
“Those were some of the strongest threats that were ever facing NJSIAA,” Timko said.
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Despite teetering on the brink of extinction, Timko, front and center, led the NJSIAA through those dark times. Through innovation and forward-thinking, it went from hemorrhaging money to turning a profit. Meanwhile, the NJSIAA continued to be among the nation’s leaders for state athletic associations, implementing groundbreaking policies other states would mimic.
“I always thought Timko was as stand-up as you can get,” said Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex), a lawmaker intimately familiar with the state’s youth sports scene. “He steadied the organization during a time of being under attack. I thought he stood out. He took the blows and he hung in there and got through it and they came out stronger. He’s a very honorable guy.”
Timko announced his retirement last summer, but his tenure as NJSIAA Executive Director officially ends this week. He’s replaced by long-time NJSIAA assistant director Larry White. Timko spent 17 years with the association, 11 of them as the top official, and he leaves behind an undeniable legacy as one of the most influential people ever in New Jersey high school sports.
Under Timko’s leadership, the NJSIAA became among the first state associations to implement steroid testing for athletes, bans against biased and discriminatory language at sporting events and hydration and weight management protocol for wrestling. Timko also helped spearhead growth of the NJSIAA’s medical advisory committee, implementation of the state’s heat acclimation program for summer practices and breast health education program for female athletes.
“He led us through the most turbulent times in the history of NJSIAA,” NJSIAA assistant director Jack DuBois said this summer. “We were at the point of almost being taken over, and financially we were in trouble. He saw us through that to become a solvent organization. That to me was major.”
Thinking back recently on those trying times, Timko deflected credit and said it was the support of member schools that helped the NJSIAA navigate the bumpy road.
“It wasn’t without everybody coming together and working as an association to make sure that we could,” Timko said. “We made a lot of cuts, and I thought in a lot of ways the law [reducing ticket prices] helped us to get stronger as association.”
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Timko said he’s most proud of the NJSIAA’s developments regarding athlete safety during his tenure. The well-being of the young people was always his top priority, he said.
“When you look at the health and safety of our athletes, I really feel extremely good about that,” Timko said. “Our coaching education programs where we mandate CPR training and AED training. The Janet’s Law that we worked on with our member schools; it’s shown that we’ve saved about eight or nine lives at this point. All of those things I have a real good feeling about.”
When asked about the greatest athlete or sporting event he’s witnessed as Executive Director, Timko started by listing former St. Patrick High guard Kyrie Irving and Seton Hall Prep pitcher Rick Porcello before stopping abruptly. There are too many athletes and games to mention, and he doesn’t want anyone to feel slighted.
“I’d be afraid of leaving out those unbelievable gymnasts that don’t get in the newspapers all the time, and the bowlers that bowl 300 games that never get the recognition,” Timko said. “To me, that was extremely important. I did go to bowling events. I did go to gymnastics events. I did go to fencing events. I think people appreciated seeing me there and knowing that I cared about what’s going on. To me, that was important and I thought it was also very valuable.”
Indeed, Timko, who lives in Hillsborough, logged 36,000 miles per year on his Honda Accord traversing from one end of the state to the other to watch high school sporting events. He says that’s what he will miss most — the games, athletes, coaches and fans.
Timko said he never imagined ascending to one of the top positions in New Jersey when he first entertained a career in education. He graduated in 1963 from South Plainfield High, where he played basketball and baseball and ran cross-country. He went on to Western Kentucky University, then taught in Louisville after graduating.
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He returned to New Jersey in 1973 and taught at South Plainfield before moving on to teach and coach at Hopewell Valley in 1976. He spent the next 25 years there before joining the NJSIAA as an assistant director in 2001; five years later, in 2006, he was named Executive Director.
His hobby has been his job. Now, he must find new ways to take up his time.
“I’m not a golfer. I’m not a fisherman. I don’t have any hobbies at this point,” Timko said. “My wife thinks I’m going to have a hard time adjusting to retirement because I’ve been full steam ahead for 51 years and it’s like putting the brakes on.”
He will lean on his family, as always, to get through the slow days. He credits them: his wife of 42 years, Donna; son, Hunter, 28; and daughter, Lindsay, 36; for putting up with his long days and nights in gyms and on ball fields.
Now, it’s on to the next chapter.
“That was the hardest part for me was announcing my retirement in June,” Timko said. “But I was 72 at the time. My wife hates when I give my age. And after 51 years, I felt that I wanted to smell the roses before I had to push them up.”
Matthew Stanmyre may be reached at mstanmyre@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattStanmyre. Find NJ.com on Facebook.