Three leaders in high school athletic administration have been selected by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) to receive the organization’s top awards for 2019.

Richard Barton, CMAA, athletic director, Richfield (Utah) High School, is the recipient of the NIAAA Frank Kovaleski Professional Development Award; Carol Dozibrin,  CMAA, recently retired athletic director of Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, New Hampshire, and currently executive director of the New Hampshire Athletic Directors Association, has been selected to receive the NIAAA Thomas E. Frederick Award of Excellence; and Darryl Nance, CMAA, director of athletics of the Greenville (South Carolina) County School District, is this year’s recipient of the NIAAA Award of Merit.

These individuals will receive their awards December 17 in National Harbor, Maryland, during banquet festivities at the 50^th annual National Athletic Directors Conference conducted jointly by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and the NIAAA.

Frank Kovaleski Professional Development Award

Richard Barton, CMAA

Richfield, Utah

Even though Richard Barton, CMAA, earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Southern Utah University nearly 30 years ago, his dedication to continuing education has endured. In Barton’s 22 years as athletic director of Richfield (Utah) High School, he has taken full advantage of the NIAAA’s professional development offerings and been a leader for other athletic directors at the state and national levels.

Barton has completed 39 Leadership Training Courses in his career and is the author and national course chair of LTC 706 (Coaching Coaches to be Leadership Educators). He also sits on the national faculty and has taught numerous courses at national conferences.

Barton’s service at the national level also includes a term on the NIAAA Board of Directors culminating in a year as NIAAA President in 2017. Prior to his time on the board, Barton was vice chair of the NIAAA Awards Committee from 2012 to 2015. He earned his CAA certification in 2003 and became the third athletic administrator in Utah to earn the CMAA designation in 2008. Barton served as Utah’s representative to the NIAAA Delegate Assembly from 2006 to 2012.

At the state level, Barton served a year as president of the Utah Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (UIAAA) in 2008-09 and has been on the UIAAA Executive Board since 2007. Since 2011, he has served as the state’s certification coordinator and worked with Utah High School Activities Association to require certification of all Utah athletic administrators.

Barton has also worked on two NIAAA Strategic Plan committees, including as chair of the Operations Committee in 2019, and three UIAAA Strategic Plans. In addition, he served as general chair of the UIAAA Strategic Plan and has assisted with two other strategic plans.

After a highly successful eight years as basketball coach at Richfield, Barton has served as the school’s athletic director and assistant principal since 1996. Barton accumulated a record of 106-64 as a basketball coach and led Richfield to a regional championship in four of his eight seasons. He was named Class 3A Coach of the Year in 1996.

Barton was a two-time all-state basketball player at Cedar City (Utah) Cedar High School and was the second all-time leading scorer at Southern Utah University (SUU), as well as top 10 in rebounds, assists and blocks. In his senior season, Barton was among the top Division I scorers (20 points per game), and he was named Academic All-American and Southern Utah Athlete of the Year, and he received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. He was inducted into the Southern Utah University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017.

Among his honors, Barton has received the NFHS Citation, the NIAAA Distinguished Service Award, NIAAA State Award of Merit and the Utah High School Activities Association and UIAAA Athletic Director of the Year honors.

Thomas E. Frederick Award of Excellence

Carol Dozibrin, CMAA

Hampton, New Hampshire

Carol Dozibrin, CMAA, began her career in athletic administration in 1979 and, for 40 years, she has been a leader in New Hampshire and throughout the nation.

Dozibrin has spent her entire career in New Hampshire, beginning as a teacher at Farmington School District. She moved to Timberlane Regional Middle School, where she oversaw the athletic program for 10 years before joining Newport Middle School as athletic director. Ten years later, Dozibrin became the athletic director of Winnacunnet High School, where she remained from 1999 to 2018.

In 2017, Dozibrin became the executive director of the New Hampshire Athletic Directors Association (NHADA), after holding several leadership positions with the organization. For the NHADA, she has served as NIAAA liaison, treasurer, awards chairperson and on its Spring Conference and Student Leadership Conference committees. In 1993-94, Dozibrin was NHADA President after serving as its first and second vice president.

Dozibrin’s service at the state level extends to the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA), where she served as president from 2002 to 2004. Dozibrin has also chaired numerous NHIAA committees including the football committee, finance committee and sports officiating committee. She also served terms on the association’s ski, strategic planning and coaches education committees.

A member of the NIAAA since 1987, Dozibrin’s involvement at the national level is extensive. From 2001 to 2004, she served on the NIAAA Board of Directors and currently is New Hampshire’s NIAAA State Coordinator. Her dedication to professional development is evident in the more than 30 Leadership Training courses she has completed. Dozibrin also serves on the national faculty and chair of LTI 703 and has taught numerous courses.

A regular attendee of the National Athletic Directors Conference, Dozibrin was a workshop presenter in 2001 and a Blue Ribbon Panel participant in 2006.

Dozibrin’s list of accolades includes the NIAAA Distinguished Service Award (2014), NIAAA State Award of Merit (1998) and the NFHS Citation (1998). She was named NHADA New Hampshire Athletic Director of the Year twice and has been inducted into the NHIAA, Newport High School and Plymouth State University halls of fame. In 2016, the NHIAA dedicated the Carol Dozibrin Advancement of Girls Sports Award.

NIAAA Award of Merit

Darryl Nance, CMAA

Greenville, South Carolina

For more than 30 years, Darryl Nance, CMAA, has influenced countless students in South Carolina as a teacher, coach and athletic director. Nance is currently in his fifth year as the director of athletics of the Greenville County School District.

Nance, who earned his bachelor’s degree from Furman University and his master’s from the United States Sports Academy, began his career as a teacher and coach at Rock Hill High School in 1988, where he stayed for three years. After one year as an assistant coach of the Greenville Spinners minor league basketball team, Nance began his administrative career as an athletic director, teacher and coach at Shannon Forest Christian School in 1992.

Nance moved to Wade Hampton High School in 1996, where he remained as athletic director until 2015 when he joined Greenville County School District.

As a basketball coach, Nance compiled a career record of 415-202 and led an undefeated Wade Hampton team to a state championship in 2011. He was also selected as the state’s North All-Star Coach in 2013. In addition to basketball, Nance coached football, baseball, softball, volleyball and golf.

During his 27 years as an athletic administrator, Nance has risen to be one of South Carolina’s most respected administrators. He has served on the South Carolina Athletic Administrators Association (SCAAA) Board of Directors since 1999 and was SCAAA president in 2006. He also served as SCAAA Leadership Training Institute (LTI) coordinator from 2002 to 2008 and has been the SCAAA State Certification Coordinator since 2011.

Nance served on the South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) Executive Committee from 2012 to 2016 and was the SCHSL Competition Committee chair. In addition, he was the first athletic administrator in South Carolina to earn the CMAA designation.

Nance’s involvement at the national level is just as extensive, where he served on the NIAAA Board of Directors from 2008 to 2011, including a year as NIAAA president in 2010. During his year as president, the NIAAA achieved national accreditation from AdvancEd/NCA/CASI.

Prior to his time on the NIAAA Board, Nance was a member of its Endowment Committee and later served on the NIAAA Professional Development Task Force in 2013-14. In addition to teaching several LTI courses during National Conferences, Nance is on the national faculty for LTI courses 719 and 799.

Nance has earned numerous recognitions during his career. He was named South Carolina’s Athletic Director of the Year in 2010 and has been named region athletic director of the year multiple times. In 2006, Nance earned the NIAAA State Award of Merit.