Bernstorf named as executive director
Former St. Paul’s AD succeeds Dove, who retired at the end of the 2021-22 school year
The Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association has named Paul Bernstorf as its new executive director, effective immediately.
Bernstorf replaces Lee Dove, who retired at the end of the 2021-22 school year after 10 years.
In becoming the MIAA’s third executive director — Rick Diggs was the first from 1995 to 2013 — Bernstorf brings vast knowledge of the conference after having served at member St. Paul’s School in a number of capacities since 1995.
The MIAA is a boys athletics conference in and around the Baltimore area that has 29 member schools and offers 17 sports competing at the varsity, junior varsity and freshmen levels. Bernstorf is looking forward to working with the various conference schools to give its student-athletes an enhanced athletic experience.
“When you get an opportunity to try to help kids have great educational experiences working in one of the best leagues in the country, it’s a great opportunity and I’m excited about it. I’m going to work closely with the athletic directors at all the schools and we’re going to try to provide the best experiences for the kids,” Bernstorf said.
Bernstorf was athletic director from 1997 to 2020 at the Brooklandville school, where he also coached baseball and football teams to five MIAA championships.
After stepping down as athletic director, he took over as the school’s varsity golf coach and led the Crusaders to A Conference championships the past two seasons.
The opportunity to reach more student-athletes as the MIAA’s new executive director is an appealing challenge for Bernstorf.
“My job is to make sure the league runs smoothly and we have great postseason tournaments and experiences for kids that they can be really proud of. Win or lose, it’s just a great atmosphere, a great environment and they can feel like they’ve learned something through athletics,” he said. “These are education-based athletics — that’s what we’re involved in and what we’re trying to teach our kids. I think the league does a great job of that and I’m happy to follow Lee Dove who did that before me.”
After an extensive search, Bernstorf ’s lengthy experience played a big role in the committee’s decision to make him the conference’s next leader.
“We are pleased to have someone of Paul’s caliber to lead the MIAA,” Calvert Hall
principal Chuck Stembler, who chaired the search committee, wrote in a release. “His experience, vision, and dedication to the league will be a wonderful asset to all those who work to serve the young people of the MIAA.”
The search committee also applauded the contributions of the retired Dove for his time in helping the MIAA continue to develop as one of the finest private school leagues in the country.
A Pennsylvania native, Dove came to Archbishop Spalding in 1986 as a physical education teacher who went on to become the Severn school’s athletic director for 17 years before taking over as MIAA executive director.
“We are grateful for Lee Dove’s service and leadership,” said St. Mary’s High principal Mindi Imes, who co-chaired the search. “He contributed to the current strength of the MIAA that facilitates healthy competition for more than 17,000 student-athletes each year.”