Sportsmanship, Ethics & Integrity Award

1994: Robert Kanaby, executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations.

1995: Fred Dafler, former associate commissioner of the OHSAA. 

1996: Chester Roush, a teacher, coach and school administrator in Ohio for 35 years.

1997: Former U.S. Senator John H. Glenn Jr., whose distinguished career has included military service, the U.S. space program, corporate management and local and national politics. 

1998: Archie Griffin, executive director of the Alumni Association at The Ohio State University, where, as a student, he was the only football player in history to win the Heisman Trophy twice.

1999: Jimmy Crum, sports director at WCMH-TV, Channel 4, in Columbus for 41 years before retiring in 1993.

2000: Wayne Embry, an NBA executive who is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

2001: Jo Ann Davidson, the Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives from 1995 through 2000 and the first woman to serve in that role.

2002: Bill Hosket, a former basketball standout at Dayton Belmont and Ohio State who also played on Olympic Gold Medal and NBA World Championship teams.

2003: Larry Kehres, head football coach at Mount Union who has led the school to 10 NCAA Division III National Championships.

2004: Jim Tressel, head football coach at Ohio State who led the 2002 team to a 14-0 record and the school’s first consensus national title since 1968.

2005: Pat Tabler, former Major League Baseball player who has been involved in coaching and charity work in the Cincinnati area. 

2006: Clark Kellogg, a former high school, collegiate and professional basketball standout who has served as a national college basketball television analyst since 1990.

2007: Duane Warns, a former assistant commissioner of the OHSAA who chaired the OHSAA’s Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Committee for 12 years.

2008: Mike Kelly, a former high school and college football coach who compiled a 246-54-1 record at the University of Dayton with three national championships.

2009: Charlie Coles, head basketball coach at Miami University, whose Hall of Fame career saw him overcome cardiac arrest in 1998 and has included 330 wins in 20 seasons as a collegiate head coach. 

2010: Larry Larson, known as “Mr. High School Sports” in Central Ohio for his coverage in print and on 610 WTVN radio for 19 years and former teacher, coach and administrator for 32 years, including 17 as the Athletic Director of Grandview High School.

2011: Kelly Whelan, former girls and boys high school basketball official for 35 years, including 13 state semifinal and final basketball games and over 25 regional tournament games. Also a former volleyball official for 33 years with 10 state semifinal and final games and over 25 regional tournament games. Kelly served on the OHSAA Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity committee every year since its inception in 1990.

2012: Chris Spielman, first gained recognition as an All-American football player at Massillon Washington High School. He went on to become a two-time All-American and three-time All-Big Ten linebacker at Ohio State, where he won the Lombardi Award in 1987 and team MVP. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010. Spielman went on to play in the NFL, spending his first eight seasons with the Lions. He never missed a game, led the team in tackles each year, was twice All-Pro and played in four Pro Bowls. Chris is well known nationally as a college football analyst for ESPN Television and locally as a sports talk show contributor with WBNS-Radio in Columbus.

2013: Jolinda Lewis Miller, athletic administrator at Cincinnati Hughes STEM High School in Cincinnati, has taken her experience at the collegiate level, both as a player and administrator, and applied it at Hughes, where her stance on athletics is clearly outlined on the athletic website she maintains: “Our Motto: No Excuses!” For Miller's efforts, she has been awarded with the 2013 OHSAA Ethics and Integrity Award.

2014: Katie Smith, one of the most successful female basketball players of all time. The Logan native and Ohio State All-American completed a 17-year professional and international basketball career last summer. She finished as the all-time leading scorer in women's professional basketball that includes both the American Basketball League and the WNBA and played on four pro championship teams - two with the ABL's Columbus Quest and two in the WNBA. Internationally, Katie was part of three U.S. Olympic Gold Medal winning basketball teams.

2015: Harvey Alston, one of the country's most dynamic motivational speakers on leadership and responsibility. His messages have touched thousands of students in Ohio, and he has also been instrumental in planning and organizing the annual OHSAA Foundation Student Leadership Conference that has grown into the largest such conference in the nation. He was presented this award during the 2015 OHSAA Boys State Basketball Tournament.

2016: Major General John C. Harris Jr., The Cleveland native is the Commander of the Ohio Army National Guard. He has also been a frequent speaker on leadership at the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association annual state clinic and awards banquet; he championed the football coaches association’s development of “Operation Buckeye Guard;” he also encouraged National Guard programs that recognize outstanding Ohio high school football teams and players, and he has supported Ohio Citizen-Soldiers conducting “boot camp” sports conditioning programs with multiple athletic teams statewide.

2017: Todd Blackledge, a college football national television analyst since 1994 and has been with ESPN since 2006. He also completed his third season as head boys basketball coach at his alma mater, North Canton Hoover High School, where he played football, basketball and baseball. Furthering his football career, he quarterbacked Penn State to the 1982 national championship. Blackledge was the 1982 Davey O’Brien Award winner as college football’s top quarterback and later received the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award in 2008; he was also was the 2009 recipient of Penn State’s Distinguished Alumni Award. In 1983, he was the seventh overall pick NFL draft by Kansas City, Todd played five seasons with the Chiefs and two with the Steelers.

2018: Jerry Snodgrass, an OHSAA staff member since 2008 and long-time member of the OHSAA Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Committee. He has been instrumental in initiating sporting behavior and other recognition programs at the OHSAA including the nationally recognized “Golden Megaphone” program, which promotes positive school spirit from students. He also has developed “Military Appreciation Night.” Jerry also serves as a frequent speaker at schools, conferences and leagues on sportsmanship and leadership. Before coming to the OHSAA, Jerry spent 31 years in education as a coach, teacher and administrator.