Q&A with new WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman: Will there be fall sports?

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, June 20, 2020 | 12:46 AM

Purchase Photo Options

As Amy Scheuneman points out, there was no coronavirus pandemic when she agreed to become the WPIAL executive director. While that’s true, she’s certainly not running from the challenge.

“One of my favorite movies is ‘The Replacements,’” said Scheuneman, who borrows a line from football coach Jimmy McGinty, played in the 2000 film by actor Gene Hackman.

“Coach said: ‘Winners always want the ball when the game is on the line.’”

Scheuneman has helped lead the WPIAL for a number of months as associate executive director but will officially become the fourth full-time executive director in league history July 1 when Tim O’Malley’s tenure ends.

She follows Charles “Ace” Heberling (1976-97), Larry Hanley (1997-06) and O’Malley, who led the WPIAL for 14 years. O’Malley announced his retirement in December.

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

A multi-sport athlete in high school and college, Scheuneman was inducted into the Plum Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. Scheuneman and her husband Paul have a son, Paul.

As she prepares to make history as the WPIAL’s first female executive director, she took time this week to discuss her background, interests and the challenges facing high school athletics.

Are you optimistic WPIAL sports will be played in the fall?

I’m optimistic from the standpoint that nothing’s been canceled yet. I think that’s a good indication that — just like we did in the spring — we’re going to keep things on as long as possible and give every opportunity to have those sports this fall. Give the student-athletes some hope that as they start a new school year, they will be able to play sports.

What’s the biggest challenge for football to be played?

The biggest challenge with football is just the number of participants and coaches that share a lot of small spaces from locker rooms, weight rooms, film rooms. You can have 100 people including participants, coaches, managers, trainers, all in a small space that’s kind of unavoidable when you have two teams. The other sports by and large don’t have those participation numbers or confined spaces. They can socially distance a lot easier.

Do you believe there will be fans in the stands?

If there are sports, I do believe there will be fans. I think the bigger question is going to be: How many?

This is a challenging time to become WPIAL executive director. What interested you in the job?

Back when I was ‘interested’ there was no such thing as the coronavirus. Things may be a little different now. The fact is it’s here and it’s under my tenure. I’m OK with it. One of my favorite movies is The Replacements. Coach said: ‘Winners always want the ball when the game is on the line.’ It may be a bad comparison but I would rather be making the decisions during this difficult time because I feel that I’m qualified and ready to do so.

What are your goals as executive director?

The first I’ll steal from Tim O’Malley in saying, “I don’t want to screw it up.” He was always known for saying that. I think I will continue with that.

There are a number of things we’ve already begun that I had on my to-do list. One of those was revamping the Sportsmanship Summit and making that more beneficial for the students. We wanted to partner with local organizations to have a greater impact in our communities. We sent out a “Tidbit Tuesday” every Tuesday that included an overview of a particular bylaw, maybe an upcoming deadline list, resources that were out there. All things that would help ADs be more successful at their jobs. Moving forward, we want to create a leadership council that involves the student-athletes of the WPIAL, to hear from them.

Also, I would like to create a Diversity Advisory Council. We have an elected board. We can’t mandate or put people in place when they are either elected or sent to us from constituents. In order to have a fair representation from all of the walks of life — backgrounds, ethnicity and everything — we need to reach out and create something that will afford us that ability.

Are there any public misconceptions about the WPIAL that you’d like to change?

We’re here for kids. That doesn’t always get out there, but we dedicated our lives to educating kids and helping them. Unfortunately, some people don’t always follow the rules and there has to be decisions made. It’s not for the purpose of hurting one individual but rather making it a fair and equitable competition for everybody.

You’ve said you don’t view yourself any differently from your predecessors as the first female executive director in WPIAL history. But what message would you have for high school girls interested in sports administration?

I don’t view myself any differently. But my message to girls or anyone for that matter is: work hard, take your opportunities when they come. You never know when somebody’s watching you. I’m a firm believer that integrity will make you successful eventually in the long run, but sometimes in the short run too. One of my mantras is: ‘You can’t go wrong by doing the right thing.”

What got you interested in sports?

Sports have been such an integral part of my life since elementary school, whenever I played soccer or was running or was training. I was a four-sport athlete in high school, and I went on to play soccer and track at Robert Morris University. It always kept me grounded. It kept me focused. The lessons that you learn from sports are what really make me passionate about my job. I feel they set you up for life.

When you’re not doing WPIAL work, what are your interests?

Spending time with my family and friends. We like to golf together. We take bike rides together. We enjoy going to the beach. We’re also very involved with our church, and groups and initiatives through them. There’s not much time, but we do find time to spend together eventually.

The WPIAL is one of 12 PIAA districts. In your mind, what makes the WPIAL unique?

The things that we offer to our schools are unlike any other district in the PIAA. That goes from the scheduling to the tournaments to our training for new athletic directors, educating students at our Sportsmanship Summit, offering scholarships. There’s so much that we do that other districts don’t do.

And providing such a great atmosphere for our championships is something people don’t understand outside of the WPIAL, but those within it obviously do.

Financially, how has covid-19 impacted the WPIAL?

We lost all of our spring sports revenues and that was difficult because our league relies on tournaments for our revenue generation: ticket sales, merchandise and sponsorships. A very small portion of our operating budget comes from school dues, so when we lose tournaments, it obviously affects our bottom line heavily.

Is using Heinz Field for football championships still in the WPIAL plans?

Those discussions will be forthcoming with our board and the people who are going to be influential in making those decisions, be it our football committee, whether we need to reach out to school districts to get their thoughts on that and ultimately having the board approve those decisions, probably at the July meeting. Heinz Field and other key stakeholders will be part of that conversation.

But for now you’re still planning to use Heinz Field?

Everything right now is as it was. It’s just not firm at the moment.

Do you believe that’s an important tradition to maintain?

Going back to whenever Ace was executive director, part of the goal was to have top-notch tournaments at top-notch facilities. Not only in football but all sports. I think it’s important to maintain a level of prestige in our tournaments. That makes us unique in allowing schools the opportunity to play at great venues and have something to look forward to, in addition to winning a championship.

We need to try to do the best we can. That being said, finances will play a part in those decisions. We can’t operate at a loss because we won’t be operating if we do. Therefore, there need to be real conversations about what we can afford and what facilities we can go into at what cost. It is our intention to keep our facilities prestigious, but “What can we afford?” is going to be a question coming down the pike.

How should Tim O’Malley’s tenure be remembered?

He should be remembered for operating a league at a high level of professionalism and prestige for 14 years. A lot of changes took place during that time and he made it look flawless, seamless and easy. And I can tell you from being on this side of the table, that is no easy task.

Is there anything from his approach that you’ll also use?

Absolutely. Just from watching him throughout the years, his professionalism. He’s hard-working, polished and always available. He was consistent in his approach, and simply put, he wanted people to play by the rules. He wanted to create an equal playing field for all that were participating. Those are things I will strive to continue during my tenure as well.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

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.