Briggs next executive director of AHSAA
BY BRUCE BRANUM
The Greenville Standard
Alvin Briggs, a Butler County and Greenville native, has been named to be the next executive director of the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA).
He will replace current executive director Steve Savares who plans to retire this summer.
The announcement was made at a press conference after a full AHSAA Central Board special meeting on Monday, May 24.
Briggs has been the associate executive director since 2018 and he will be just the fifth full-time director since the Associated was founded in 1921.
The first director, Sellers Stough, served on a part time basis until Cliff Harper became the first full time director in 1948.
Briggs was a star football defensive back at Greenville High School (GHS) and started from 1979-1982. He then went to Auburn University where he continued his football career and helped the Auburn Tigers win a SEC championship in 1987.
He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1988 but only played one year the NFL and then he took the role as a graduate assistant at North Alabama. He stayed with them for 10 years as an assistant coach.
In 2001, he returned to Greenville and became head football coach of the GHS Tigers until 2005. Afterwards, he moved to Florence and was head coach for five years.
In 2011, he became the director of the AHSAA athletic directors and coaches association and then became the associate executive director in 2018 after Tony Stallworth retired from that position.
AHSAA Central Board president Van Phillips said Brigg’s experience was a key factor in his selection as Savares’ replacement.
Briggs stated at the press conference, “I want to thank the board for having confidence in me to be the next leader of this great organization. There is no doubt I have big shoes to fill. The previous executive directors have set a legacy of excellence, not only in this state, but across the nation.”
The purpose of AHSAA is to regulate, coordinate and promote the interscholastic athletic programs among its member schools, which include public, private and parochial institutions.
Its functions are to provide a vehicle which member schools may write their own rules and regulations, determines that schools are abiding by those standards in such areas as student eligibility, contests and championship programs. Another basic function of the AHSAA is the registration, training and regulation of officials.
