News broke Monday morning that NIAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine will leave his post in Nevada for the same position in Louisiana.
Bonine was on a leave of absence last week and was one of five finalists interviewing for the job, according to the Times Picayune in New Orleans. Bonine's wife has family that lives in the area and it seems like a logical move.
With Bonine leaving, it will be interesting to see what direction the NIAA goes in and if there is a temporary replacement or someone permanent is hired right away.
Bonine has had a number of battles with Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas during his tenure. The private school in Las Vegas has dominated the sports of football, boys basketball and baseball in recent years. The Gaels just won their sixth consecutive championship in football with a 70-28 win over Reed on Saturday at Damonte Ranch High School in Reno. Bishop Gorman, who was ranked No.1 in the nation by USA Today, will probably be crowned the mythical national champion, finishing the year 15-0.
During his tenure, Bonine tried to get Bishop Gorman out of NIAA competition, but that was met with discontent from the school. Lawsuits were threatened, if any decision was made to throw the Gaels out of the state and make them compete as a national independent.
It is well known that schools in Las Vegas basically do not want anything to do with Bishop Gorman and want something done with the private school.
Apparently it will not be Bonine's problem anymore and the replacement will have to deal with it. That is where things become interesting.
Station Casinos in Las Vegas ponied up a hefty amount of money to become a corporate sponsor of all the state championships in Nevada this year. The Fertitta name is a big part of Station Casino, but also at Bishop Gorman. Nico Fertitta, who will be attending Notre Dame next year, is a player on the Gaels this year.
Oh by the way, Lorenzo Fertitta is the CEO of the UFC. There is just a little bit of money involved there. The UFC has also given the NIAA money to help sponsor the state wrestling tournament.
In the times where money is tough to come by, is the NIAA going to give up that payday, by telling Bishop Gorman what to do? Looks like the NIAA has painted itself into a corner and there is no easy solution.
From my standpoint, the NIAA currently has two good representatives working under Bonine in Donnie Nelson and Jay Beesemyer. The question is, will the NIAA board look to one of those two as a replacement? Do they have the qualifications the board will look for? Does either one want the job? They know what is at stake in Nevada high school athletics right now.
Will the NIAA open the job up to a national search? We will see.
The public school versus private school battle is one of a few issues a new director will have to face.
The new hire will face the realignment of the schools in Nevada shortly. There are talks of a super conference in Las Vegas only, with or without Bishop Gorman. That would probably consist of eight to 10 schools.
Will the new director take care of the rural schools throughout the state to give them a better chance at competing at state championships? A possible Division II to could be in the future for Lowry High School for the 2016-17 school year. Those hoping for a separate league for public and private schools, it will not happen. There are only three large private schools (Bishop Gorman Bishop Manogue and Faith Lutheran). You can't have a league with three schools.
The executive director job is a no-win situation. No matter what the next person does, he/she is not going to make everyone happy. Heck they might not make anybody happy.
Hopefully, whoever takes over will do what is best for the athletes in Nevada. There are a lot of great athletes and teams that compete every day. Let them showcase their talent of the field, gym floor or wrestling mat. Let's try to keep the politics of everything else out of the daily conversation.
Humboldt Sun Sports Editor Tony Erquiaga can be contacted at t.erquiaga@winnemuccapublishing.net.[[In-content Ad]]
