Amy Scheuneman resigning as WPIAL executive director after spring sports championships

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, April 14, 2022 | 9:02 AM

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Amy Scheuneman’s tenure as WPIAL executive director is ending this spring after two years.

Scheuneman, who became the league’s top administrator in the midst of a pandemic, said she is resigning June 1 to accept an undisclosed position elsewhere. She said her new position would be announced Monday.

“It would be fair to say that interscholastic athletics in Pennsylvania has been my life for the past 20 years,” said Scheuneman, in an email sent Thursday to athletic directors, “but it would be impossible to explain how much the people, the league and the institution of interscholastic athletics as a whole have meant to me. I have garnered friendships that have lasted far past employment locations and relationships that will continue long past this day.

“To each of you with whom I have been in contact with, I hope to have treated you with respect and made you feel heard and known. I hope to have shown others that leading by example with hard work, composure, collaboration, passion and empathy will foster a lifetime of success.”

A Plum native and Robert Morris graduate, Scheuneman is a former athletic director at Avonworth (2003-06), Bethel Park (2006-16) and North Hills (2016-19). She served as a member of the WPIAL board of directors before joining the league’s administration in July 2019 as Tim O’Malley’s eventual successor.

She became the league’s first female executive director and the fourth person to hold the position full-time after Charles “Ace” Heberling (1976-97), Larry Hanley (1997-06) and O’Malley (2006-20).

This will be a summer of change for the league’s leadership. The WPIAL also must replace board president Scott Seltzer and vice president Patrick Mannarino, whose terms end July 1. Seltzer did not seek reelection, and Mannarino’s reelection bid fell short.

The WPIAL board will meet Tuesday to discuss naming a new executive director.

During Scheuneman’s tenure, she was the driving force to create the WPIAL Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council, which has guided the board during a time of heightened focus on social justice.

When she took over a league, the WPIAL played many championships at top venues but not all, so she worked to improve the experience for the others.

Additionally, she formed a relationship with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to organize a leaguewide food drive, and partnered with the Special Olympics in support of the “We Finish Together” initiative.

She also was instrumental in the WPIAL embracing social media with the addition of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.

“I am truly grateful for the trust and confidence the WPIAL board of directors has in me,” she said. “Interscholastic athletics will always be near and dear to my heart, but I have run this race for 20 years, and it is time to begin a new chapter and a new race in my life.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.