Hartnett named new president of CHSAA’s board of directors
AURORA — Eddie Hartnett, the district athletic director of Adams 12 Schools and a member of CHSAA’s board of directors since 2012, has been named the Association’s new board president.
The announcement will be formally made at the Legislative Council meeting on Thursday morning.
“It’s an honor,” Hartnett said on Wednesday night. “Over many years of experience of working with people, especially kids, I’m very fortunate to be in this position.
“It sounds to cliché to say that it’s humbling, but it really is,” he added. “If you look over the years at the CHSAA presidents, including Curt Wilson and Harry Bull, the last two (presidents) before me, they’ve impacted my life in such a positive manner that I hope to be half the president that they were.”
Hartnett’s term will begin in June 2015, when he will succeed current president Curt Wilson. Hartnett is currently the representative from District 6, which includes the Continental, Front Range and 5280 leagues.
He will be the 60th president in the Association’s history, which dates to 1921.
“Thinking about having the opportunity to represent all of the communities in Colorado is really humbling,” Hartnett said. “It really is.”
Hartnett formally applied to be the board president in December. He wrote a letter to CHSAA commissioner Paul Angelico as part of a that process, and discussed it during the board meeting on Wednesday.
“It was quite a humbling experience to basically look at myself to represent such quality people in this room,” he told the board on Wednesday. “I’ve never, ever worked with people who’ve influenced so many lives.
“It’s an amazing group of people to work with, in this room, as well as the schools, the communities, the coaches, the athletes,” Hartnett added. “To write a letter saying, ‘I would like to represent all of you,’ was quite humbling.
“I am asking to represent you as president,” he said.
Shortly after, the board went into executive session to discuss the next president. It then voted to name Hartnett president.
“We’re excited to have Eddie as our new president,” Angelico said. “Curt Wilson is a tough act to follow, but with Eddie’s experience and reputation for attention to detail and teamwork, and making sure things are done right, I look forward to seeing what his leadership brings for the next couple of years.”
Hartnett began his career as an athletic director at Nederland, and was also AD at Northglenn. Prior to that, he was a teacher in Broomfield, and also coached football, baseball and basketball in Boulder Valley. He is a graduate of Broomfield.
He said his experience in both small and large schools should be helpful in his role as president.
“I have developed, over the years, an enormous amount of relationships that I take great pride in which encompass 5A schools, metropolitan schools, rural schools,” Hartnett said. “I think that will help the Association. That’s my hope. And I look forward to facilitating and continuing great relationships already established by previous presidents.”
At Adams 12, Hartnett has been instrumental in a number of the district’s programs, including its Unified teams. He is also active in the Colorado Athletic Directors Association, and is a member of their board.
In addition, Hartnett chairs of CHSAA’s equity committee, which oversees inclusion in the Association — from Title IX to LGBTQ and other issues of equality.
Just this week, he was honored by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association with an award recognizing his “significant contributions” in professional development of administrators.
