HERMITAGE– – – Ronnie Carter, former Executive Director of the TSSAA, will become the eighth person and first administrator from the state of Tennessee to be inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame.

Mr. Carter is among 13 individuals who will be inducted in the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) National High School Hall of Fame on June 27th at the Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado. The 31st Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be the closing event of the 94th annual NFHS Summer Meeting.

He was the third Executive Director in the association’s history and was preceded by Gill Gideon (1972-86) and the association’s first director, Mr. A.F. Bridges (1946-72).

Mr. Carter joined the TSSAA in 1978 as an Assistant Executive Director. He was named Executive Director in 1986. When he retired in June of 2009, he was the fifth longest tenured active Executive Director in the NFHS (National Federation of State High School Associations).

Carter spent over 40 years of his career involved in secondary education and athletics as a teacher, coach, official, and administrator. Prior to joining the TSSAA, Carter taught mathematics and coached football, basketball, wrestling, and track for 11 years at the secondary school level in Nashville.

During his time with the TSSAA, Mr. Carter was very involved with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). He was a member of the National Federation Football Rules Committee for 25 years, Chairman of the Football Research Subcommittee of the Football Rules Committee for eight years, a member of the NFHS Basketball Rules Committee for 12 years, Chairman of the NFHS Basketball Rules Committee for eight years, and member of the NFHS Wrestling Rules Committee for four years.

Mr. Carter was elected to serve as a member of the NFHS Board of Directors from 1998-2002. He had the honor of serving as President of the NFHS for the 2001-2002 term.

Honors and Awards Include:

  • National Wrestling Hall of Fame Lifetime Service Award as a Contributor
  • First recipient of the “Ronnie Carter Award”, given by UCA/Varsity each year at its National competition
  • Tennessee School Boards Association Hall of Fame Inductee (2009)
  • Fred Russell Lifetime Achievement Award (2010) presented by the Nashville Sports Council
  • TSSAA Hall of Fame (2011)

“We are extremely proud of Ronnie and congratulate him on this outstanding award,” stated Bernard Childress, Executive Director of TSSAA. “It is a special moment for the Carter family, the TSSAA, as well as Ronnie. This is the pinnacle of success in high school sports, recognizing his dedication and many years of service providing leadership to the coaches, administrators, officials, and member schools of the TSSAA.”

Previous Tennessee inductees include Catherine Neely, Rick Insell, the late Jim Smiddy, the late Buck Van Huss, and the late Boyce Smith, all coaches. Billy Schrivner and the late Bill Pack, were inducted into the Hall of Fame as officials.

The National High School Hall of Fame was started in 1982 by the NFHS to honor high school athletes, coaches, contest officials, administrators, fine arts coaches/directors and others for their extraordinary achievements and accomplishments in high school sports and activity programs. This year’s class increases the number in the Hall of Fame to 411.

The 13 individuals were chosen after a two-level selection process involving a screening committee composed of active high school state association administrators, coaches and officials, and a final selection committee composed of coaches, former athletes, state association officials, media representatives and educational leaders. Nominations were made through NFHS member associations.