Former Daphne head football coach Steve Savarese earned a National Federation of State High School Associations Hall of Fame induction this month, an honor that did not go unnoticed by the Jubilee football community.

The Trojans football social media pages honored their former legendary coach, who was one of eight individuals inducted by the NFHS this year. Savarese spent seven years at Daphne, where he posted a 77-14 record and led the program to its first state championship in 2001 along with two runner-up finishes in 2000 and 2003.

“Coach Savarese’s impact on Alabama high school athletics will be everlasting,” current Executive Director Heath Harmon said in a release from the NFHS. “His guidance as executive director took the AHSAA to its greatest heights in its 100-year history. His leadership helped prepare the AHSAA for the future — and his focus on sportsmanship, health and safety, and student participation has been modeled nationwide."

Before his time on the Eastern Shore, Savarese spent 12 years at Benjamin Russell High School in Alexander City, where he won 96 games. He began his coaching career in Kansas in the 1970s, where he won a state title as the Douglass High School head coach. Overall, he posted a 291-98 record in 33 years.

Savarese later took a role as Executive Director of the Alabama High School Athletic Association, making a huge impact within the state’s athletics until 2021. His tenure was highlighted by: introducing the AHSAA’s Revenue Share initiative, moving the Super 7 Football Championships Alabama and Auburn on a rotating basis in 2009 before adding UAB in 2021, returning the Indoor Track Championship, and kickstarting many programs as bowling and flag football.

Nationally, Savarese was heavily involved in the NFHS Network, serving as chairman of its board of directors. With his help, the AHSAA was one of the first state associations to join the NFHS Network.