Steve Conley has worn plenty of hats throughout his professional career.
He’s been a school teacher at Fairbanks High School, served as the Panthers’ athletic director during a couple of stints, coached sports such as football, track and field and boys and girls basketball and served as the director of Parks and Recreation for the city of Marysville.
Conley, who is retired from the world of education, has now taken on another title, that of commissioner of the Ohio Heritage Conference.
The circuit is the athletic affiliation for Fairbanks and Triad high/middle school sports teams.
The commissionership became open with the retirement of Ted Williams.
“Larry (outgoing FHS athletic director Morris) forwarded that information to me and said I should do this,” Conley told the Journal-Tribune. “I looked at the job description and it’s basically the stuff I’ve done for years.”
Conley submitted a resume and letter to the conference’s committee that is comprised of the affiliates’ athletic directors.
“I think there were a few candidates for the job, but I’m not sure how many,” said Conley. “I went through the interview process and was later offered the position.”
Conley said he will begin his duties at some point in July, ahead of the start of the 2022 fall sports season.
Just what does he see as his role?
“I see it as being the daily operations manager for the conference,” he said. “I will also be the liaison between the committees of athletic directors and building principals.
“The principals are the ultimate individuals who are in charge of their buildings,” said Conley. “If the athletic directors within the OHC have ideas or proposals, it’s my job to present them to the principals.
“I would also become involved in any disputes that would come up between member schools,” he said. “However, hopefully that won’t happen.”
Conley will oversee all of the sports at the high schools and middle schools within the conference.
The position will pay him $6,000 on an annual basis, plus any travel expenses incurred during the performance of his duties.
Conley feels his experience as a high school athletic director and the director of Marysville’s parks and recreation program has prepared him well for this new venture.
“I had very positive years of experience during my stints (13 years in total) as Fairbanks’ athletic director,” he said. “I feel I have strong motivational skills and I know how to stay within an operating budget.”
The Ohio Heritage Conference’s budget is derived from gate receipts for league tournaments or any all-star athletic contests that are held at any member school, according to Conley.
There was talk earlier this spring about discussing a possible realignment within the OHC.
The conference currently consists of the North (Fairbanks, Triad, Mechanicsburg, West Jefferson, West Liberty-Salem and Northeastern) and South (Greeneview, Greenon, Springfield Catholic Central, Cedarville, Southeastern and Madison Plains) Divisions.
Logan Dunn, who was then the athletic director at Triad, had proposed realignment of the conference to make the divisions more equitable as far as school size.
Dunn has since become the new athletic director at Fairbanks. He told the Journal-Tribune earlier this spring that, because of the move, he would have to re-visit the proposal.
“Realignment would be something the principals and athletic directors would have to decide,” said Conley. “I would not be a part of that process.
“According to the conference’s bylaws, that discussion has to be addressed by the board of control every two years.”
At the time of his proposal, Dunn told the Journal-Tribune the conference had not discussed re-alignment for several years.