Q&A with Brad Alford, the new NCHSAA Commissioner

Newly announced NCHSAA Commissioner Brad Alford joined HighSchoolOT's Joel Bryant and Ben McCormick on an episode of Press Box to discuss the hiring process and his early vision for the association as he begins to transition into the role. Alford is set to start his transition on Aug. 24 and will replace Que Tucker on Oct. 1.

The following is an approximate transcript of the interview (questions are shortened from the original versions for the sake of brevity):

Q: Congrats and describe the past couple of months for you on an emotional level?

Alford: "As for the past couple of months, it's truly been a humbling experience. Throughout the process, I felt just an incredible sense of gratitude for the confidence the board of directors has placed in me, for the mentors and colleagues who have invested in me throughout my career, and for the support of my family.

And then of course, at the same time, there's tremendous sense of responsibility. The NCHSA serves 450 member schools this year and nearly 200,000 student athletes. So being entrusted to lead an organization with that responsibility is both an honor and a privilege. And I'm excited for the opportunity to continue to serve education-based athletics here in North Carolina."

• Read: NCHSAA picks Brad Alford as next Commissioner, replacing Que Tucker

Q: What did this process look like for you? Why did you want to take this step in your career?

Alford: "It was a thoughtful and thorough process, I think both on my side and the board of directors' side. And I appreciate the opportunity to be able to discuss with search committees, board of directors, about the future of the association, both their vision and my vision.

I think we saw an extreme alignment during that process. As you mentioned, I've devoted much of my professional career to education-based athletics first for nearly 15 years at the association, and again, most recently at the Department of Public Instruction. This opportunity allows me to continue serving schools and student athletes in our great state, just in a different leadership capacity."

Q:  How do you view the commissioner role? What is your definition of it?

Alford: "Certainly stewardship. So I really view the commissioner role as the chief steward of the association's mission.

And the association has had a very strong mission for many years, and it's pretty simple. It's to provide governance and leadership for interscholastic athletics programs in North Carolina that support and enrich the educational experience of students. So again, the role is about service.

We're serving our schools, the board of directors, the outstanding staff that is there. I've been fortunate to be a part of that staff, working alongside our community partners, and just to making sure that every decision that the association makes, that it remains centered on what's best for the student-athlete. My responsibility is to build upon the association's strong tradition and that foundation while continuing to help fulfill its mission of serving our member schools."

Q: How much will your direct knowledge of the day-to-day work and challenges the NCHSAA staff faces help you chart a new course forward?

Alford: "That's one thing I learned pretty quick is at the end of one day, you may set a task sheet for the next day and you may never reach that task because there's no telling what comes up overnight in interscholastic athletics. Having spent nearly 15 years with the association, it certainly gives me a perspective and an appreciation for the outstanding work that our staff does each and every day.

But at the same time, my focus isn't on immediately charting a new course for the association. My priority is to spend time with our staff, to spend time with our board, and to spend time with our membership and our external stakeholders across North Carolina. I'm very fortunate to have built relationships with many superintendents, principals, athletic directors, coaches, officials, parents, and all the other stakeholders throughout my career.

And I look forward to building upon those relationships as we continue to strengthen the association together."

Q: What is your vision for the NCHSAA?

Alford: "We have a strong foundation at the Association, and my vision is to build upon that strong tradition, that strong foundation, while remaining focused on serving the 450 member schools and the nearly 200,000 student-athletes. I want us to continue to be the national model, and that's the national model, that's the vision of the Association, for developing inspiring greatness through interscholastic experiences.

Over the coming months, I look forward to spending time with the board, the staff, all of the others that are involved in interscholastic athletics, like superintendents, principals, athletic directors, coaches, officials, parents, and all the other partners that the Association has, because those relationships have always been one of the greatest strengths of the Association, and I believe that collectively they will shape the future of the Association."

Q: What is the biggest challenge facing the NCHSAA?

Alford: "Education-based athletics continues to evolve, and again, with my conversations that I've had with many of the great leaders, whether it be at the state level or the local level, it has changed more in the last 5, 10, 15 years than it ever has in such span.

Rather than identifying one issue, I think it's important for me to get into that role, understand the perspectives of the people that we serve. Every member, every community has different experiences, unique experiences in their local districts, in their regions, and so those experiences and getting that feedback from me will help me to guide the Association based on what the membership needs, and again, to build upon that strong tradition and strong foundation."

Q: What are some things you’ve learned from Que Tucker that you will take into this role?

Alford: "I'd be remiss if I didn't take the opportunity to thank her for her leadership and for everything that she has done, not only for me, but for the Association and education-based athletics as a whole. She has devoted her career to serving our schools and our student-athletes, and I'm grateful for that leadership as well as that mentorship because, again, she was on staff and a direct supervisor, a commissioner while I was on staff different times throughout her career. But one of the biggest lessons that I've learned from Que is just the importance of relationships.

The role is about serving people, building trust, communication, open communication, and remaining focused on what's best for the schools and the students. I've been very fortunate throughout my career to learn from outstanding leaders, not only Que, but from Charlie Adams, Davis Whitfield, and again, most recently, Superintendent Green, and each of them has influenced my leadership in different ways, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to build upon those examples that they each have set for me."

• Watch the full episode of Press Box with Brad Alford

Q:  We had our first widely publicized instance of the Interscholastic Athletics Independent Appeals Board overturning a decision. You worked with this board. Do you think the concept and implementation of it have worked the way they should work?

Alford: "I think it's important to respect that governance process that is in place, and I am extremely fortunate to have a front row seat to the appeals process for 15 months. I do believe that it is a fair system that allows every party involved to be fairly represented. And because of that experience, I would say that the concept, as well as the implementation, has worked as intended."

Q: What are your thoughts on the new eight classification system and new playoff system?

Alford: "Those decisions come through the association's governance process, and ultimately, initial requests from the membership. I'm very fortunate that I served in a leadership role at a time where some of these major changes were put into place, so I do have a front row seat there, and again, very thankful for the commissioner's trust as an assistant commissioner at that time to take on some of those challenges.

I would probably say that for this particular, when we're talking about the eight classification system or the new playoff system, one year of data and input surely is a starting point, but as the incoming commissioner, my responsibility is to continue to support that process and understand how those changes are impacting our schools and work collaboratively with the board and our members to make sure that what we have in place is working and is serving our student-athletes as intended when it was put into place."

Q: Are there any new ideas you hope to bring to the organization that you can implement in the first year?

Alford: "I think the priority isn't announcing new initiatives. While certainly I do have some ideas, I think my priority is just serving the association well during the transition. Again, I mentioned this a moment ago, but very fortunate to have many strong relationships in the interscholastic athletic community, and so I look forward to enhancing those relationships while continuing to learn what is needed from the association.

Again, we have that strong 113-year foundation, and my responsibility is to be a good steward and work alongside the board and the staff and the school and the community partners as we continue to serve those 450 member schools and the 200,000 student-athletes. So, I think there will be a time that we'll be able to look at what does a future strategic plan look like, but I think it's not going to be just the commissioner's ideas, I think it's that communication with our schools and how we develop a strategic plan that sets us for not only the immediate future, but the long-range stability of the association."