Tim O’Malley was emphatic. The boss of the WPIAL let league administrators know there would be no retirement parties for him.
O’Malley declined an interview request for this story, saying, “I am requesting that you leave my departure go. … It’s best to go forward, not backward.”
So, O’Malley will officially retire as WPIAL executive director June 30 — and go full time to being a husband, father and grandpa. He will go quietly and be feted by no one. That’s a shame, because O’Malley should be recognized for the many good things he did for WPIAL athletics as the league’s executive director, but also as a coach and athletic director before that.
O’Malley, 69, spent almost 50 years in the education and WPIAL sports field. He started as a teacher in 1972. He was a football coach for 19 years at Avonworth, Pine-Richland, Hopewell and Moon. He was an athletic director at Moon, North Allegheny and Butler before becoming WPIAL czar in 2006, succeeding Larry Hanley, who stepped down for family reasons.
Hanley, O’Malley and Charles “Ace” Heberling are the only three full-time WPIAL directors in the 114 years of the league. The WPIAL is one of the largest high school leagues in the country with more than 130 members, and running the league is often a thankless job. Complaints are many. Compliments are few.
O’Malley used to say every move, every decision makes some people happy — and at least someone unhappy. Certainly, the WPIAL and its board of directors made some moves during O’Malley’s tenure that made you scratch your head — from playoff pairings, to playoff sites, to eligibility rulings of student-athletes. That’s natural, though, for a governing body of more than 130 schools, from big to small. The agendas of schools were vastly different.
But O’Malley worked long hours and listened to many complaints while keeping the league running smoothly — and keeping it on solid financial ground, even as attendance in recent years had dropped considerably in football playoffs and championships.
O’Malley steered the WPIAL through the advent of six classifications in Pennsylvania, an idea born from the PIAA and not backed by the WPIAL. He kept championship games in many sports at top sites. He was a big believer in continuing to have four football championships at Heinz Field. The soccer championships moved to Highmark Stadium on the South Side and the boys golf championships were at top Western Pennsylvania courses, including Oakmont Country Club.
O’Malley had his detractors, but he would listen and usually stand his ground for what he believed was best for the league and also student-athletes. He tried to have the WPIAL take a stand against athletes who transferred schools for athletic reasons. Sometimes the WPIAL board of directors had some inconsistencies in their eligibility rulings, but often times O’Malley’s hands were tied because of a lack of evidence on whether a student transferred for athletic reasons.
The PIAA did not back the WPIAL in many of its eligibility rulings over the past decade and it was part of a reason for a rift that existed between the WPIAL and PIAA.
But O’Malley did so many things that weren’t visible to the public, but helped the league. Amy Scheuneman will take over as executive director July 1 and she worked with O’Malley for the past year as associate executive director. Scheuneman made some excellent points about O’Malley.
“There’s a lot of crap that goes through this office and Tim made it look easy,” Scheuneman said. “I wasn’t fully aware of everything that needs to get done, but it got done with him.
“One thing I think Tim can be remembered for is obviously he was professional and very hard working.
“But one thing he focused on over the years is everyone has to follow the rules to make it an even playing field for everyone. That’s one thing that always came with criticism because people thought we were punishing kids. But Tim always saw the big picture, and if you let one participant go, how does that affect everybody else? He made sure everybody was playing by the same rules.”
So, wherever you are, Tim O’Malley, take a bow for a job well done. You left an imprint on the WPIAL.
Suggestion for WPIAL
The WPIAL decided last week to get rid of the pairings meetings for basketball and football playoffs.
The WPIAL said the move was a cost-cutting measure, but it was also “getting with the times.” In this day and age, why do schools have to come to a meeting to find out playoff brackets? The WPIAL could simply release them on the league’s web site, like it does for every other sport.
But while we’re at changing things, here is another suggestion: Release the football playoff pairings on a Sunday night, please?
Back when Ace Heberling was in charge of the WPIAL, the football playoff pairings meeting was on a Monday night because Heberling was an NFL official, and had to be away on Sundays. But former WPIAL executive director O’Malley continue the practice, saying he didn’t want the WPIAL football committee or office personnel to work on a Sunday.
But releasing the football playoff pairings on a Monday night drives WPIAL coaches mad. They can’t prepare for an opponent until Tuesday. With Zoom meetings nowadays, the WPIAL football committee wouldn’t even have to come to WPIAL offices to figure out playoff pairings. They could do it via video. And they could start on the final Saturday of the regular season, finish on Sunday and release the pairings Sunday night.
It would make coaches happy.
Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh
First Published: June 25, 2020, 10:00 a.m.
