Breithaupt Receives TGCA Citation of Merit Award
By Chris Schmidt, Public Affairs Representative | Friday, September 06, 2013 2:03 PM
Dr. Breithaupt speaks after receiving the TGCA award.
Photo by Kim Carmichael, Chief of Staff
University Interscholastic League Executive Director Dr. Charles Breithaupt was selected as a recipient of the Texas Girls Coaches Association Citation of Merit Award given to him at the association’s annual summer convention.
Breithaupt, a coach and educator for 17 years before joining the UIL, is only the second recipient of the TGCA’s highest honor. The award is given to individuals who have gone above and beyond in contributing to the success of the TGCA and is only awarded on odd years when the association’s convention is held in Austin.
“There is no more deserving person than Dr. Charles Breithaupt,” TGCA Executive Director Sam Tipton said. “It’s been a great, great partnership, and we just wanted to give back a little to him for what he has done for girls athletics and the Texas Girls Coaches Association.”
Since Breithaupt joined the League in 1992 as assistant athletic director, participation in girls’ athletics has risen to an all-time high. In that time span, the number of girls’ athletics participants has tripled with more schools joining the UIL and with more opportunities being created through the addition of new conferences and events.
In 1995, Breithaupt became the UIL Director of Athletics and oversaw the expansion of girls’ athletics at the state level with the addition of conferences in softball, soccer and swimming and diving, the addition of new divisions in basketball and track and field, and the addition of wrestling as a UIL-sanctioned sport.
“He always made sure that girls’ athletics were at the forefront,” Tipton said. “So what you have seen is an individual that not only has preserved what we have but has also taken it to a different level ensuring that girls athletics is vitally important not only in the state but at the national level.”
Breithaupt has served on several national committees including the National Federation of State High School Associations Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Committee and the NFHS Basketball Rules Committee. He has also served as a member of the NFHS Board of Directors.
As a former coach, Breithaupt knows the importance of organizations like the TGCA and the educational opportunities they provide for young coaches.
“I think TGCA has done a really good job and that is why they have grown so much through the years and why they continue to prosper,” Breithaupt said. “I have a great passion for coaches, and having been a coach, I love what they do and I love what they stand for.”
The TGCA is one of the largest associations of coaches, and the largest association for coaches of girls’ athletics in the country. Established in 1953 with a membership of less than 100, it has grown to an excess of 5,000 members today and includes coaches and administrators in all levels of education.