NCHSAA's Adams announces retirement plans

Charlie Adams, executive director of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association since 1984, announced Tuesday he will retire January 31, 2010. Adams has been on the NCHSAA staff since 1967 and is one of the longest-tenured executive directors in association work in the country, taking over that role in 1984. "My wife Sue and I feel that this is a good time to retire and in closing out our career we feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve the Association all these years," Adams said in a statement. "My best memories will be of our staff, the outstanding leadership from our officers, the strong and productive Board of Directors, our member schools and the many friendships we have made during this period of time. Most importantly, however, has been the opportunity to give our student athletes a 'memory forever.'" A native of Cary, where he was a star high school basketball player, Adams is only the fifth executive director in the 95-year history of the NCHSAA. Adams started at UNC but transferred to East Carolina, where he earned his undergraduate and his master's degrees and played on the basketball team. He then coached and taught in Laurel, Delaware, before returning to Wake County. He was the coach at Cary High School and then was assistant principal, dean of men and athletic director at Garner High before joining the NCHSAA. He is a 1991 inductee into the East Carolina University Sports Hall of Fame and a charter member of the Cary High School Athletic Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the North Carolina Athletic Directors Hall of Fame, the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame and the National High School Sports Hall of Fame. He will be inducted into the NCHSAA Hall of Fame later this month. Adams is also the only North Carolinian ever to serve as president of the National Federation of State High School Associations. Adams explained that he and his wife had really made this decision a couple of months ago, as they discussed over Christmas. Adams said the recent death of his son, Scott, was not the reason he decided to retire.