MONTGOMERY — The Alabama High School Athletic Association will have a new executive director this fall after Alvin Briggs informed the AHSAA Central Board of Control during Wednesday’s meeting of his plan to retire from his current position effective Sept. 2.

Briggs, the fifth executive director in association history, was the first person of color to hold the position. He has been with the AHSAA since 2011 where he previously served as Director of the Alabama High School Athletic Directors & Coaches Association (AHSADCA) and Associate Executive Director before becoming executive director when Steve Savarese stepped down in 2021.

When Briggs moved into the executive director role in July of 2021, he also became the first person selected for the role who was already on the AHSAA executive staff.

“My time with the AHSAA has been memorable. I am humbled and thankful for having the opportunity to serve our member schools and Central Board as their executive director,” Briggs said. “I am grateful to the AHSAA staff for their commitment to serving our member schools. I will miss this extended family. I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish and am confident the AHSAA will continue to move forward facing and overcoming the many challenges that the future might bring. Now, after much prayer, it is time for me to retire.”

Briggs, who has spent 35 years in education, guided the AHSAA through some difficult times after his tenure began at the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was an instrumental member in getting Girls’ Flag Football sanctioned as well as extended the agreement at the current site for the state baseball and softball championships (Oxford’s Choccolocco Park and Jacksonville State University). Under Briggs’ leadership, the AHSAA saw a tremendous growth in participation in non-revenue sports where the association also saw record years in the revenue sharing that was paid back to member schools – especially coming out of the pandemic. Overall, attendance at all championship events has been thriving.

Central Board president Mike Welsh thanked Briggs for his service.

“We want to congratulate you on your retirement, and we thank you for your service,” he told Briggs following the announcement.

Also during the meeting, the CBOC approved several sports committee recommendations made through the Board’s Championship Committee and presented by Assistant Director Jeff Segars including:

• Football: Approved the starting date for middle school football contests to be aligned with junior varsity starting dates which are the first Monday after varsity teams are allowed to play;
• Cross Country: Insured the sport’s season gets its 10 weeks and also waived the ban on runners using GPS watches;
• Volleyball: Approved the use of 1 official in a sub-varsity contest only when the officials association informs the school it is unable to assign the required minimum of two;
• Basketball: Approved giving schools the option of using a shot clock for regular-season non-area games – only if both schools agree. The CBOC also approved allowing the AHSAA to use a shot clock in its summer classics and the North-South All-Star Games as a means to gather data and help train the personnel needed to operate the shot clock. Class 7A schools were also approved to extend their regular season one week since those schools do not compete in the sub-regional round of the playoffs;
• Flag Football: Approved 15 dates for varsity/junior varsity and 10 dates for middle schools. Also approved developing a regular season and playoff format that corresponds with padded football, but also approved allowing flag teams to play multiple playoff games at one site on the same date to reduce travel;
• Swimming: Approved eliminating section meets and using regular-season times to determine qualifiers for the state meet – similar to the current indoor track format;
• Bowling: Approved changing the playoff format currently used in section and state meets to follow the regular-season format. Also approved was making the championship round a double-elimination round and extended the playing dates from 20 to 22; and
• Wrestling: Approved adjusting the section and state wrestling schedules to accommodate girls’ wrestling. Also, in individual wrestling, approved ensuring that the wrestling placement in section tournaments receives higher consideration in the final seeding for the state meet and determines if a wrestler is disqualified in the section meet, that place in the state meet would result in a forfeit. For the wrestling duals, the CBOC approved allowing cross-bracketing in playoff format.

The Central Board also elected officers for the 2024-25 school year where District 1 member Terry Curtis from UMS-Wright was named president and Pelham’s Kim Kiel from District 5 was chosen as vice president. They take office on July 1.

The AHSAA Legislative Council will meet Wednesday afternoon to vote on a number of proposals submitted by the member schools.

Other Central Board action included:

• Approved the 2023 Super 7 and Football State Playoff financial report;
• Approved 2024 financial reports for Regional and State Bowling, Duals, Section and State Wrestling, Indoor Track, and 2024 Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Basketball;
• Heard a report from Associate Executive Director Kim Vickers concerning the Classification Task Force and approved their recommendations;
• Approved the 2024-25 Required Forms release date and any form changes;
• Approved the Strategic Process and Budget for 2024-2009;
• Approved Wilson’s official volleyball for the 2025-26 season;
• Heard a report from AHSADCA Director Brandon Dean concerning the 2024 Summer Conference and All-Star Sports Week;
• Approved expenses for the 2024 NFHS Summer Meeting to be held in Boston, Massachusetts;
• Approved the 2024-25 Calendar of Events, the 2024-25 Sports Calendar and the AHSAA Five-Year Calendar (2024-2029); and
• Discussed the current proposals to be addressed by the Legislative Council.