Jerry Snodgrass has been named the next executive director of the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
In becoming the 10th commissioner in the 111-year history of the OHSAA, Snodgrass will succeed Dan Ross, who has served in that capacity for 14 years.
Snodgrass has been on the OHSAA staff since 2008, first as an assistant director and then as director of sport management.
“We have an enormous responsibility in education-based athletics, and I am ready to take that on,” Snodgrass said in a press release May 4. “I have had a great mentor here and great mentors along the way to prepare me. No individual in this profession is successful without the help of others. We have a great staff and they will be an integral part of developing our annual goals, while always keeping in mind our mission statement to provide educational opportunities for the students through participation in sports.”
Snodgrass, who is from Upper Sandusky, previously worked as a teacher, coach and administrator at a list of schools that includes Defiance, Morral Ridgedale, Bryan and Findlay.
Since joining the OHSAA, he has served as an administrator for various sports including soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, lacrosse and hockey.
He was inducted into the Ohio Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Hall of Fame in October 2010, the same year he received the OHSAA’s Naismith Meritorious Service Award. He also received the OHSAA’s Ethics and Integrity Award in March.
Snodgrass will take over Sept. 15 for Ross, who began serving as the OHSAA’s ninth commissioner on Aug. 1, 2004.
“Jerry has established great relationships with so many people and schools throughout Ohio,” said Paul Powers, the OHSAA board of directors president and the athletics director at Aurora. “He’s very respected across the state and has been a leader within the OHSAA community for a long time, including the last 11 years in the state office. Jerry has not only been the administrator for many of the OHSAA-sanctioned sports, but he has brought new ideas, especially in the areas of sportsmanship and tournament management. We’re excited to see the direction of the (OHSAA) in the years to come.”
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