On January 29, 2015 the National Federation of State High School Associations (
NFHS) announced its annual list of NFHS Citation recipients.
The list of 12 honorees includes IHSA Assistant Executive Director Scott Johnson
(right).
“This is quite an unexpected honor, and I thank the folks who nominated and confirmed me,” said Johnson. “It’s something I will always remember.”
The Citation award was designed by the NFHS to honor individuals who have made contributions to the NFHS, state high school associations, athletic director and coaching professions, the officiating avocation and fine arts/performing arts programs.
The NFHS Citation is one of the most highly regarded achievements in high school athletics and performing arts. The 2015 NFHS Citation recipients will receive their awards on July 1 at the 96th annual NFHS Summer Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Johnson joined the IHSA as its Data Processing Manager in 1994 and was promoted to his current Assistant Executive Director position in 2001. Johnson oversees the IHSA’s IT efforts and is recognized as one of the most influential technological innovators among state high school associations in the country.
Johnson built
www.IHSA.org from the ground up and is responsible for a number of innovations, including the IHSA
ScoreZone and
IHSA Archives. He also developed the IHSA Schools Center and Officials Center, a private side of the IHSA website designed to allow each member school and licensed official to better manage their respective responsibilities
A published historian, Johnson has penned a number of books, including a history of the IHSA Boys Basketball state tournament entitled
100 Years of Madness, and
Once There Were Giants, which tells the tale of the Hebron Giants winning the 1952 IHSA Boys Basketball state championship.
He is also one of the premier sources on
H.V. Porter, a former IHSA and NFHS administrator who is credited with inventing the term “March Madness” in 1939.
Click here for more on
Scott Johnson and here for past
NFHS Citation honorees from Illinois.