Sac-Joaquin Section Director of Communications Will DeBoard has been promoted to the position of Assistant Commissioner, effective July 1, SJS Commissioner Mike Garrison announced.
DeBoard, 44, has been a part of the Sac-Joaquin Section staff since May 2009, when he was hired to the new position of Director of Communications. He will continue in his current role as the Sections media liaison as well as other expanded roles in playoffs and transfer eligibility. His promotion was presented by the SJS Executive Committee at the April Board of Managers meeting and was approved unanimously.
“Will has been a huge asset to this organization; he’s served as its Director of Communications with professionalism, passion, dedication and leadership,” Garrison said. “His expertise in the field of high school athletics, combined with his extensive knowledge of the historical background of the SJS provides our organization with an invaluable quality. We look forward to his continued contributions to the Sac-Joaquin Section in his expanded role.”
DeBoard is no stranger to the Sac-Joaquin Section. He graduated from Hughson High School, class of 1990, where he played soccer and ran for the cross country and track and field teams. He covered high school sports for The Modesto Bee newspaper for 17 years, during which time he won several national awards, including the James Madison Freedom of Information Award.
DeBoard becomes the third Assistant Commissioner in Section history. He joins current Assistant Commissioner Ryan Tos, in his third year on the job. The Section’s first Assistant Commissioner was John Williams, who retired in 2015 and is now the league commissioner of the Sierra Valley Conference.
CIF Sac-Joaquin Section oversees high school athletics for 198 schools and 225,000 students. Its geographic boundaries stretch from Merced in the south, Grass Valley in the North, Napa to the west and the Nevada state line to the east. The Section is the second largest of California’s 10 athletic sections.