Coach and Athletic Director Announces 2013 Program of Excellence Honorees

Coach and Athletic Director is pleased to announce the two recipients of the 2013 Interscholastic Sports Program of Excellence award, honoring the nation’s best athletic programs for their off-the-field achievements.

An independent panel of judges selected Tappan Zee High School (Orangeburg, N.Y.) and University School of Milwaukee (Milwaukee, Wis.) as this year’s honorees. The schools receive an award and will be featured in the November/December edition of Coach and Athletic Director, profiling their athletic departments and their accomplishments.

The second annual Program of Excellence was created to honor sports programs not for their accomplishments on the field but their overall commitment to promoting a positive experience for student-athletes. This year, we received nominations from schools in 44 states. The honorees were selected based on their success in eight categories: participation rate, coaches certification, community service, athletic director national certification, scholar-athlete status, level of participation, sportsmanship and parent participation.

“In just our second year with the Program of Excellence, we’re overwhelmed by the quality of our nominees and the effort they put into building a distinguished athletic program,” said Managing Editor Kevin Hoffman. “Our judges had a very difficult job, but this year’s honorees are certainly worthy given their achievements and dedication to educational athletics.”

In its inaugural year, the Program of Excellence recognized four schools—two public and two private. In an effort to make the award more exclusive, the program honored two schools this year. Judges were asked to narrow the nominees to six finalists, before choosing two as the award recipients. The remaining four finalists will be recognized as “Best in Class.”

The 2013 Program of Excellence class is as follows:

Honorees:

– University School of Milwaukee (Milwaukee, Wis.)

– Tappan Zee High School (Orangeburg, N.Y.)

Best in Class:

– Pope John Paul II Catholic High School (Slidell, La.)

– Upland Christian Academy (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.)

– Los Alamos High School (Los Alamos, N.M.)

– Burnt Hills High School (Burnt Hills, N.Y.)

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