Abstract
High school athletic directors (AD) play a crucial role in the administration of high school sports. Over the past several decades, participation in high school athletics has increased, placing ADs with additional responsibilities. Many duties include student-athlete development, transportation, technology, legal issues, marketing, fund-raising, and more recently, concussions. As duties and responsibilities increase, high school principals find the hiring of ADs more challenging. The current research reviewed career and educational experiences of high school ADs; looking at what principals look for in their ADs and comparing their responses to ADs resumés. A total of 112 Washington State high school principals completed surveys and 37 ADs submitted resumés for comparison. Results showed that principals preferred ADs to have coursework background in law, ethics, budget, and finance. Principals rated experience as a head coach the highest among professional experiences and results showed a majority of ADs had such experience. Implications of results suggested that principals can make more sound decisions as they hired ADs. Individuals looking to become an AD can shape their career path to meet the expectations of principals.