Q&A With Glenn Lungarini: New Director Takes Over At CIAC
Glenn Lungarini took over as the executive director of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference in August after Karissa Niehoff left to become the executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations.
Lungarini, 42, went to Holy Cross, where he played baseball on a team that advanced to the 1994 Class L championship and lost 10-6 to Plainville in extra innings. He continued his education at Eastern Connecticut State University, where he played first base for the 1998 Division III national champions. He came to the CIAC from Pomperaug High School, where he had been principal since 2014.
What is your background?
“I began as a health and physical education teacher at Pomperaug High School. While I was teaching, I had the opportunity to coach baseball at Yale under John Stuper. I was trying to decide whether I wanted to go the baseball coaching route or the education route. From that standpoint, I looked at what opportunities I could have to have a greater impact on kids from an educational standpoint. That led me to seek an administrative degree. I had a unique experience of helping to open a school from the ground up in Oxford. I was an assistant principal, athletic director and department chair of several departments. Then I went to Seymour High School, where I served as the principal. I had an opportunity to go back to Pomperaug as a principal. I think a lot of who I am as an educator came from the people who influenced me at Pomperaug High School.
When the opportunity for this position came up – as an athletic director, as a coach, and even back as a high school athlete, I think of the things that the CIAC gave to me – and as an administrator, the work I’ve been able to do with the Connecticut Association of Schools, this gave me an opportunity to have an impact far greater than I could as a principal. I have the opportunity to work with many state leaders and the legislature on many educational mandates and reform.”
The CIAC has this rap of being reactive, rather than proactive. Is that something you see changing, maybe getting out ahead of issues more rather than reacting to them?
“I think that’s a perception people may hold when there are issues of contention. I think in each of those issues – if you look at what the rule was, or what the by-law was, what we had in place – that that action was proactive. Sometimes when decisions don’t go the particular way that others want it to, that’s sort of a perception they may have. But one of the nice things about this organization is it gives the opportunity for member schools to propose changes. There’s always opportunity for reviews of what we have in place.
But we try to – as much as we can – to get out ahead of issues. For an example, I received an email from Channel 3 earlier this week when the CDC came down with their new regulations for youth concussions. They asked, ‘Is there anything the CIAC might have to change?’ When you review the recommendations, we’ve been doing that since 2010 and it was revised in
2014. This is a place where we are out ahead of those issues.
I think it’s a matter of perspective but I think by and large, this organization does its best to get out ahead. But we also understand that when questions come, or if there are concerns, we’re not afraid to look at what our policies are, if it comes through the process of our member schools – and make adjustments if needed.”
Given your experience as a coach and administrator, is there anything you would like to do to improve how the CIAC works with its member schools?
“I think the organization – through the committee work we do – has an outstanding process that ensures all coaches, athletic directors and principals have an opportunity to be heard on any issues. And throughout the process are key members in determining what our regulations, rules and bylaws are.
As I get deeper into trenches, there really isn’t anything I’ve seen so far I would change in that process.”
There have been ongoing issues having to do with fairness and a level playing field – one being transgender athletes. Have you gotten any feedback on that issue and is there anything the CIAC plans on doing in the future as far as informational sessions about the issue?
“I did, upon interviewing for this job, anticipate that transgender would be one of the topics that would come up. I looked very deeply in the CIAC’s policy and stance and how that was developed. The CIAC policy is very strong in alignment with what Connecticut state law is around the ideology of gender fluidity, which I believe is at the intent of state law right now. This topic – much like any other – if there is a concern a member school would like to bring to the table, we would have that discussion as well just as we would on any other concern a member school brought to us.
It is important for us to talk about it because there’s also some education behind that, that we can all learn as well. Our policy right now aligns with the way our schools are identifying our students. From the outside looking in at the concerns from track last season – there wasn’t anybody who participated in that girls track meet who was not identified as a female by their school. That’s an important piece. We’re in alignment with state law and we’re in alignment with our member schools.
“The law favors gender fluidity. We need to abide by state law. I don’t see the CIAC taking a stance that would contradict what Connecticut law is.”
Schools of choice and how they’re allowed to play against non-schools of choice in the state tournament, especially in basketball, is also another hot button topic. Is it as fair as it can possibly be now? Is there any way it can be better?
“I’m speaking more from my experience as a principal and an athletic director. I think that CIAC and the individual sports committees do a nice job on an annual basis of taking a look at the tournaments, taking a look at the way placements and divisions and seedings are made and try to make it the most competitive situation they can and place people in the right divisions. For example, the basketball committee going to five divisions and having the formula they’ve worked through in terms of placement is a great example of the work CIAC does to try to level that out for all schools.
As I get more into that this year, and I see that more from this end, my knowledge of how that works will certainly grow. As a principal and AD, I never had an issue with where our teams were placed. I thought it was fair. Competitive.”
What do you think is the most pressing issue today in high school sports in Connecticut?
“I think in high school sports, it’s keeping our eye on the idea of the spirit of competition. When we’re looking at kids and high school sports, nobody is getting paid. We have to keep in mind that something like 1 percent go on to play under scholarship in college. We want kids to have outstanding experiences. We want kids to understand the value that comes from playing sports. Learning how to set goals, how to overcome adversity, learning how to develop relationships that last longer than many other relationships you develop in other areas. Sportsmanship is a big push for us. That’s not just for the athletes on the field, but also the fans, students, parents.”