INDIANAPOLIS — The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) will award NFHS Citations to eight high school athletic directors December 16 in Anaheim, California, during luncheon festivities at the 44th annual National Athletic Directors Conference sponsored jointly by the NFHS and the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA).
One of the winners is Roger Dixon, who served in North Carolina for 31 years and was very active in the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association before moving to South Carolina.
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.
This year’s other award winners are Rich Bechard, CMAA, district athletic director, Blue Valley Schools, Overland Park, Kansas; Maurice “Bud” Campbell, CAA, retired athletic director, Murray (Utah) High School; Mark Horak, CAA, athletic director, Lake Oswego (Oregon) High School; Fred Lilly, CAA, deputy superintendent, Camden (Arkansas) Fairview Schools; Bruce Phelps, CMAA, retired coordinator of student activities, Virginia Beach (Virginia) City Public Schools; Patrick Pizzarelli, CAA, assistant superintendent for student and community affairs, Lawrence (New York) Public Schools; and Greg Smith, retired district activities director, West De Pere (Wisconsin) School District.
Roger Dixon, CAA, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina
Roger Dixon, CAA, retired last year after 40 years in secondary education at seven schools in two states – North Carolina and South Carolina. He spent the first 31 years in North Carolina and finished his career with nine years as athletic director at Socastee High School in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Dixon began his career as a teacher and coach at Chase in Forest City. He then coached track at Hunter Huss and football at North Gaston High School, before returning to Gastonia in 1985, where he coached track at Ashbrook for 12 years.
After his retirement from the North Carolina Public School System in 1997, Dixon was athletic director at Charlotte Christian School for five years before moving to South Carolina. Overall, Dixon was an athletic director for 28 years in five schools.
Dixon was a varsity head coach for football for 10 years (assistant coach for 30 years), indoor and outdoor track for 38 years combined, boys basketball for three years and girls basketball for five years. He was named Track Coach of the Year five times – in 1984 and 1985 for girls track, and 1994, 1995 and 1996 for boys track.
Among his honors, Dixon received the NIAAA State Award of Merit in 2003 and the Bob Sawyer Unsung Hero Award from the North Carolina High School Athletic Associationin 2002. In 2004, Dixon was inducted into the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association (NCADA) Hall of Fame, and in 2006 and 2012, Dixon received AAA Athletic Director of the Year honors from the South Carolina Athletic Administrators Association (SCAAA).
Today, Dixon remains involved in the South Carolina High School League and the SCAAA, serving on the SCHSL Compliance Team and the Constitutional Committee, and the SCAAA Constitutional Committee and Mentoring Handbook Committee.
Dixon earned his associate of arts degree at Gardner-Webb College in 1964, and his bachelor’s degree in business education at St. Andrews Presbyterian College in 1967.
