CIF Commissioner Byrnes Will Step Down in August

Thomas Byrnes, commissioner of the California Interscholastic Federation since 1980, has announced he will resign effective Aug. 1, 1995.

Byrnes, 57, informed the CIF’s Federated Council of his intentions by letter before the Christmas holiday break. He said he wanted to announce his decision now so that the council has ample time to search for a replacement.

“There’s a lot of things I want to do with the rest of my life besides the CIF,” Byrnes said. “I’ve been in education for 35 years, and I think it is time to do something else. You get a little burned out when you get up in age.”

Ken Gunn, president-elect of the council, said the CIF Executive Committee will meet next month to discuss the search for a successor. He said it would be ideal to hire someone no later than July 1 to assure a smooth transition.

Gunn, the principal at Walnut High, said he and other council members were not shocked by the news because Byrnes has discussed retiring for the past year.

Byrnes was the Southern Section commissioner before being chosen to replace Bill Russell as CIF commissioner. He is only the fifth commissioner since the CIF was formed in 1914.

The CIF governs all high school sports in the state and is the largest such organization in the nation. It has 1,176 member schools in 10 regional sections.

Byrnes and Gunn declined to speculate on a possible successor. A likely candidate, however, is Margaret Davis, longtime CIF associate commissioner.