Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Ron Kantowski on the outgoing head of state’s youth sports, who was tough but always fair-minded

Roughly two months from now, when he tackles the bittersweet chore of cleaning out his office, Dr. Jerry Hughes will come across a file that he has kept since he took over as executive director of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association more than 17 years ago.

In it are all the thank-you notes he has received during his years of tireless service to the sports-playing youth of Nevada. Or as I like to call them, Jerry's Kids.

"I think I've gotten eight letters in 18 years," Hughes said during a telephone conversation.

There was a pregnant pause after which I deduced that he was pulling my leg or being self-deprecating or both. Heck, I know umpires who have been thanked more often than that. I told him I had recently gone into double digits myself.

Finally Hughes came clean. He admitted his thank-you file was thicker than he let on.

"But I guarantee you there are no more than 20," he said.

That's more than one a year, I told him. You must be doing something right.

Actually, Hughes did a lot right. For starters, he listened to nearly 20 years of mostly baseless complaints from athletic administrators, coaches and parents - especially the parents - and never once gave in to the temptation of punching somebody's lights out. That's not as easy as it sounds. Just ask the Durango and Reno High baseball teams.

Back in 2000, when the Trailblazers and Huskies literally fought for the right to advance to the state championship game, Hughes ruled a double forfeit and awarded the trophy to Silverado. Bud Selig should be so tough.

But it wasn't always about carrying a big stick. Hughes pioneered new programs, such as a drug and alcohol policy that has been adopted by other states. He has honored state athletes, past and present, with student-athlete luncheons and Hall of Fame banquets.

He has witnessed the association grow in leaps and bounds, especially in Southern Nevada, which had 10 big high schools when he took occupancy in the swivel-backed chair and now has 30. That's a lot of growth to oversee. At the same time, he insisted the small schools would continue to have a voice in establishing policy, something he's rightfully proud of.

Hughes' sense of timing was pretty good, too.

Back in the late 1980s, when interest in the boys basketball tournament waned in Las Vegas, it was permanently moved to Reno. But two years ago, sensing the tide of apathy for prep sports had turned in Southern Nevada, Hughes moved the tournament back here on a rotating basis. The Orleans Arena was jammed to capacity.

But the days of wine and roses nearly turned into swill and thorns last year.

Many of the positives achieved during Hughes' leadership were shoved to the back of the bus, with the front occupied by legal wrangling over athlete eligibility. A high-profile case concerning the status of a Bishop Gorman basketball star was decided in court, and the NIAA lost.

As noted earlier, Hughes had a reputation for being a bulldog when it came to protecting the spirit of the NIAA rules - on more than one occasion, I have referred to him as Judge Roy Bean or Sgt. Hulka, for the way he wielded his big toe. But his lawyers were no match for Gorman's high-powered legal team when it came time to interpreting the letter of the law.

Private concerns over the NIAA's inability to provide a level playing field for Bishop Gorman's rivals went public last spring, when it was proposed that the Clark County School District secede from the organization. But Gorman agreed to abide by the NIAA rules as they are written and told Ben Matlock to take a hike. So far, so good. The union remains intact.

Hughes insists last year's court battles did not figure in his decision to semi-retire. He will officially step down on Jan. 12 to take a position on the UNLV faculty, where he will teach a sports education and leadership class.

"It wasn't an easy decision," said the 59-year-old Hughes, who grew up in Ohio but has spent most of his adult life in Northern Nevada.

"Maybe last year, it would have been."

He says he's going to miss the job and miss the people he met while doing it even more. As far as his legacy? He said he would want those administrators and coaches and parents to know that while they may not always have agreed with him, he sleeps well at night, knowing he ruled fairly and consistently.

Somewhere in a file in the deep recesses of a desk at 1 East Liberty St., Suite 205 in Reno, there are 20 letters that pretty much say the same thing.

archive