MONTGOMERY – The Alabama High School Athletic Association was saddened to learn of the passing of former AHSAA Associate Executive Director Joe Evans. Mr. Evans passed away early this morning, June 23, after an extended illness at a Montgomery hospital.

Evans, 72, was a successful high school teacher and basketball coach and also had an outstanding career as a college coach.

He was hired by then AHSAA Executive Director Dan Washburn as Associate Executive Director of the AHSAA in 2000 – becoming just the third Associate Executive Director in the AHSAA’s 100-year history. He remained in that position when Steve Savarese became Executive Director in 2007 and finally retired in 2011.

“Joe Evans was a man of integrity and honor who faithfully upheld the duties and responsibilities of the AHSAA,” said retiring AHSAA Executive Director Steve Savarese. “I will miss my friend, our stories, his advice and wisdom, but I’m thankful he is at peace and not suffering anymore. We offer our prayers and condolences to the family of Joe and want them to know just how much we love them.”

Alvin Briggs, who will assume the duties as Executive Director of the AHSAA on July 1, also has served as Associate Executive Director at the AHSAA. He said he felt Joe Evans’ impact and influence on athletics in the state of Alabama even before he joined the AHSAA.

“He is highly recognized for his leadership skills and love for athletics and student-athletes,” Briggs said. “He has always been a trailblazer, a man of strong beliefs and a man who showed great leadership in all that he did. The legacy of Joe Evans will continue to impact high school athletics for many years to come. Our state lost one of its finest men.”

Dan Washburn, who retired as Executive Director in 2007, said hiring Joe Evans was a great day for the AHSAA. “He came in with a wealth of experience in athletics, and through his work at UAB with Coach Bartow, he knew just about all the high school coaches across the state. He was extremely loyal to the AHSAA and endeared himself to our school administrators and coaches because of his love for high school sports. It was indeed an honor to work alongside him and get to know him as my friend.”

Evans compiled a 378-85 coaching record at Keith High School in Orrville before joining the staff of Coach Gene Bartow at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the mid-1980s. He was the first Alabama prep coach invited to coach in the prestigious McDonald’s All-America Game.

After leaving the high school ranks, he was considered one of the nation’s top college recruiters for Bartow and the UAB Blazers. He later served as athletic director and Chair of the Health and Physical Education Department at Lawson State Community College in Birmingham before joining the AHSAA staff. While at the AHSAA, he spearheaded an emphasis on coaches’ education and school accountability.

He graduated from R.B. Hudson High School in Selma in 1966 and from Bishop (Texas) College in 1971. He was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame in the Class of 2013.

As a 15-year-old Hudson High School student, Mr. Evans took part in the 1960s civil rights march led by Dr. Martin Luther King over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in his hometown of Selma. He was most proud of the fact that he was able to rise to his position at the AHSAA serving all high schools, and he was even more proud of his brother George Evans, who became the first black mayor in Selma history.

Funeral arrangements have not been announced.