MONTGOMERY – A total of 98 AHSAA member high schools completed the
2025-26 school year with no sportsmanship-related fines or ejections. These
schools were recognized Friday at the Alabama High School Athletic Association
Sportsmanship Schools luncheon held at the Montgomery Renaissance Hotel and
Convention Center. That luncheon followed Friday’s morning session of AHSAA
Executive Director Heath Harmon’s mandatory Summer Conference Principals and
Athletic Directors session of the 2026 Summer Conference.
The Summer Conference concluded with its mandatory Medical Advisory
Board session meeting, which was led by Advisory Board chairman Dr. James
Robinson. The update officially closed the 29 th AHSAA Summer Conference
Principals and Athletic Directors Conference.
Ten schools being recognized for reaching the Sportsmanship School status
were selected to receive a $1,000 grant from the Alabama High School Athletic
Directors and Coaches Association (AHSADCA) – bringing the total grants
distributed since the beginning of the AHSAA Sportsmanship Empasis initiative to
$152,000. A total of 136 difference high schools has received the grant overall and
more than 400 schools have achieved the Sportsmanship Award since its inception.
“Going through an entire school year without an ejection in any contest is a
major accomplishment,” said AHSAA Executive Director Heath Harmon. “We
are proud of our schools who reached this milestone in 2025-26. These schools
show all our schools that reaching this goal is possible.”
The $1,000 Sportsmanship Grant is presented to at least one school from each
of the eight districts with a school from each classification being represented. Two
districts (Districts 3 and 7) had two recipients. The 10 recipients for this year
included:
Class 1A: Faith Christian School – Amanda Henderson, principal
Class 1A: Southern Choctaw High School– Kevin Palmer, principal
Class 2A: Samson High School – Meme Sheffield, principal
Class 3A: Wicksburg High School – Lee Hyde, principal
Class 4A: Curry High School – Eric Woodley, principal
Class 4A: West Limestone High School– Matt Taylor, principal
Class 5A: Priceville High School – Shane Hopkins, principal
Class 6A: Spain Park High School – Amanda Esslinger, principal
