WPIAL chooses new board president for 2024-25 school year

By: Chris Harlan
Monday, May 20, 2024 | 7:24 PM

The WPIAL board ushered in a new group of officers Monday with Peters Township athletic director Brian Geyer selected to serve as president.

Mt. Lebanon athletic director John Grogan was tabbed as vice president and Brentwood principal Jason Olexa will serve as treasurer. Hempfield’s Tom Evans remains secretary. Geyer was previously vice president.

WPIAL officers are chosen each spring by their colleagues on the board. They’ll serve a one-year term starting in July. Two current officers are leaving the board after retiring from their school district jobs.

Geyer will replace out-going board president David McBain, who is retiring as West Allegheny athletic director after 23 years. McBain served two years as WPIAL president. Board treasurer Michael Allison also is retiring, after 25 years as principal at Hopewell.

“We are going to miss them and their dedication to the league,” WPIAL executive director Scott Seltzer said. “I’m sure we’ll still reach out to them and hopefully they’ll continue to help. They put a lot of great years into the board. They dedicated their lives to improving the lives of students.”

The WPIAL is governed by a 21-person board of directors that includes 11 elected representatives and 10 appointed by various constituent groups. Western Beaver athletic director John Rosa and Charleroi superintendent Ed Zelich were newcomers elected to the board in April. Some of the constituencies also will have new representatives for the 2024-25 school year.

“It’s a good mix,” said Seltzer, who’s completing his second year as the WPIAL’s top administrator.

“There are still enough board members who can tie into history and say, ‘This is how it was,’” Seltzer added. “Sometimes when you’re new to something, you don’t know the history. You don’t know how you got to this point. … But having new members gives you new ideas. They might make you more up-to-date and maybe be more relevant to students’ needs.”

The constituencies represented with board seats are superintendents, athletic directors, school boards, girls sports, private schools, game officials for boys and girls sports and parents of male and female athletes. One member of the WPIAL Equity Council for Diversity & Inclusion also has a seat on the board.

Co-ops approved

Students at Heritage Baptist Academy, a small Christian school founded in 2003, will be allowed to play sports at nearby Jeannette under an agreement approved Monday by the WPIAL board. The two schools will cooperatively sponsor teams in football, baseball, softball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls golf and soccer.

The WPIAL also approved a co-op letting Sewickley Academy students play football at Moon. Both co-ops still need approval from the PIAA before taking effect next school year.

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.