News

Brian Avery, Director of Champions Together, is one of eight athletic directors from around the nation who will be awarded NFHS Citations on December 14, in Tampa, Florida at the National Athletic Directors Conference.

NFHS Citations are presented annually to outstanding athletic directors in recognition of contributions to interscholastic athletics at the local, state and national levels. State associations nominate athletic directors for NFHS Citations, and the NFHS Board of Directors approves recipients.

From the NFHS News Release:

Brian Avery, RAA, has been director of the Champions Together program for the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) since July 1, 2022, and administers and promotes both of the IHSAA’s Unified Sports – Unified Flag Football and Unified Track & Field.

The Champions Together program began in 2012 as a collaborative effort between the IHSAA and Special Olympics Indiana (SOIN) as a means of providing a quality experience of sports training and competition. It brings together high school students with and without disabilities to compete together representing their high school. 

Avery has been the IHSAA Girls Basketball State Finals tournament director since 2023, and assistant to the tournament director for the IHSAA Boys Basketball State Finals since 1992.

Prior to joining the IHSAA, Avery was an athletic director at two Indiana high schools – 11 years at Speedway High School (2011-22) and 11 years at Franklin Central High School (2000-11). He was a teacher/coach at Lawrence Central High School (1988-2000) and Scecina Memorial High School (1983-88) prior to moving into administrative roles.

Avery has been a member of the Indiana Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (IIAAA) Executive Board since 2005 and served as president of that organization in 2016-17.

Avery has been honored by both the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) and the IIAAA numerous times in his career including the NIAAA State Award of Merit in 2009 and IIAAA State Athletic Director of the Year in 2014. He was secretary/treasurer of the Indiana Crossroads Conference and is a former president of Conference Indiana and former Marion County Athletic Association coordinator.

Avery is a 1983 graduate of Marian College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in social studies teacher education. He went on to earn a master's degree in secondary school administration from Butler University in 1990.

A LaPorte, Indiana, native, he is a 1979 graduate of LaPorte High School where he played basketball and ran track for the Slicers. Avery is also a licensed IHSAA official in football and basketball following in the footsteps of his father, George R. Avery, who also was licensed in those sports for 25 years.

NFHS News Release: https://nfhs.org/stories/nfhs-recognizes-eight-high-school-athletic-directors-with-citation-awards