Reviewed by: Pat Byington
Oxford principal Heath Harmon announced as new AHSAA Executive Director
Reading time: 4 minutes
Nearly two months after Alvin Briggs announced his retirement, the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) has named his successor as the association’s executive director.
During a news conference Thursday afternoon, the AHSAA confirmed Oxford High School principal Heath Harmon has been selected as the next Executive Director.
“The AHSAA’s longstanding tradition of serving member schools in support of education-based athletics is recognized locally as well as nationally. We are certainly proud of our past and we are preparing for our future.”
~ Heath Harmon, new AHSAA Executive Director
Keep reading to find out more about Harmon + see more from Thursday’s big announcement.
Heath Harmon
Heath Harmon is an lifelong Alabama resident and graduated from Jacksonville State. He has been principal at Oxford High School since 2017 but before that, he had a coaching + teaching career that included stops as a head football coach at:
- Cordova (2002-03)
- Munford (2004-06)
- Andalusia (2007)
- White Plains (2008-13)
As a coach, he held a 52-74 record on the field, making three playoff appearances including a run to the Class 4A quarterfinals with Andalusia.
“I think that coaching in the state of Alabama, any sport, prepares you for understanding the importance of athletics. It even starts before then when I was a high school athlete. The opportunities to play, participate and compete, that’s a laboratory for life.”
~ Heath Harmon during Thursday’s news conference
Harmon will become the sixth executive director in the AHSAA’s history following:
- Cliff Harper (1948-1966)
- Bubba Scott (1966-1990)
- Dan Washburn (1990-2006)
- Steve Savarese (2006-2021)
- Alvin Briggs (2021-present)
Washburn, Savarese and Briggs were all in attendance during Thursday’s press conference.
“Getting the call to come back here and get offered this job is like an unreal exhilaration. Then right after you hang up it’s like, ‘oh wow.’ So having them here is huge. All of them telling me to ‘call me anytime, come see me anytime’ because that’s going to happen. You can’t put a value on the wise counsel of experience. But more than that, just them being here. That let’s me know how important this association is.”
~ Harmon on working with previous executive directors
Executive Director role
Briggs will remain in the role with Harmon expected to officially start sometime in July. The AHSAA Executive Director’s job includes:
- Overseeing the day-to-day operations of the AHSAA
- Serving as the Chief Administrative Officer to the AHSAA Board of Directors
- Being the final decision-maker for all issues affecting the AHSAA including eligibility, bylaws, rules, and policies
- Overseeing the budget and related financial affairs of the AHSAA
“My mindset of the importance of education based athletics and my experience in athletic leadership as well as administration leadership, I felt like I had the skills. And so I felt if I can do it, I need to step up to the plate and do that. I think it’s a very important job. I know it’s going to be a challenging job but I’m ready to meet that challenge.”
~ Heath Harmon, new AHSAA Executive Director
Harmon was already asked several questions about possible future changes to high school sports in the state including the potential for a shot clock in basketball, a new format for football playoffs and more.
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