Glenwood’s Bissen up for national A.D. award

Glenwood Community High School Athletic Director Jeff Bissen is one of eight finalists for the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Athletic Director of the Year.

The award, along with the national Coach of the Year award, will be presented at a banquet at the NHSACA National Convention on July 20-23, in Lincoln, Neb.  

Bissen, a Harlan-native who has served as Glenwood’s Athletic Director for eight years, is the lone finalist from Iowa. The other finalists nationally are Mark Armstrong, Lincoln (Neb). Southwest High School; Jonathan Capone, West Haven (Conn.) High School; Brien Dunphy, Peoria (Ill.) High School; Guy Fridley, Dickinson (N.D). High School; Scott King, Malta (Mont.) High School; Bobby Reinhardt, Berkeley (Fla.) Prep; and Fred Smith, Lake Michigan (Mich.) Catholic High School.
Needless to say, Bissen, 34 was surprised and flattered by the honor.

“There are so many great ADs in the business and many that I feel are more deserving of the award than myself,” Bissen said. “Honors like this are because of our coaches, sponsors, parents, kids, alumni and community and everything they do for Glenwood. I am happy to receive this honor on behalf of all of them and the great things we have going on in Glenwood.”

Bissen, at age 25, took over as one of the youngest athletic directors in Class 3A in 2012. In his tenure the Rams’ athletic department won two state titles, in boys basketball and girls track. They also picked up 21 Hawkeye 10 Conference championships and saw 15 teams qualify for state competition. Bissen has also overseen the construction of the $3.8 million high school auxiliary gym and weight room addition and the opening of the $7 million Glenwood Community School District Activities Complex.

Bissen won the Iowa High School Athletic Director Association Activities Director of the Year for Southwest Iowa in 2017, the same year he was honored as the Southwest Iowa Wrestling Athletic Director of the year by the Wrestling Coaches Association. In 2016, the Iowa Girls Coaches Association awarded him its Basketball Administrator of the Year Award.

The NHSACA finalists were selected by a rubric scoring system based on the following categories: tenure as an athletic director; improvements in facilities; state, state qualifier and conference tournaments managed; professional high school athletic service; high school athletic director honors received; professional contributions made for national, state, regional or conference clinics or conferences; education, training, safety and other types of programs developed, or lead, at the state or local level; and the state association’s membership in NHSACA.

“I would imagine the committee looked at the completion of our activities complex, our state girl’s track championship, other district and conference championships as well as the different programs like the student leadership class we offer kids,” Bissen said. “On top of that, I was fortunate to present at the state and national AD convention last year on the topic of ‘Promoting your Programs through Social Media.’”

As a finalist, Bissen will have the opportunity to give a presentation at the national convention in July. Bissen’s session, titled “Creating a Culture of Excellence” will focus on what Glenwood does to create a positive culture for student athletes and staff. He plans to touch on program building and promotion, weight room opportunities, building community support, facility improvements and coordinating with student, parent and booster organizations.

“It is an honor just to be a finalist for a national award,” he said. “I am proud to be the Glenwood high school AD and glad to see all the work we have done at Glenwood be recognized at the state and national level.”