The District of Columbia Public Schools has named Stephanie Evans as the athletics director, making her the first woman to ever hold the position, according to a report in the Washington Post.
The position has gone through some turmoil of late with Evans, 39, being the fourth person to hold the position in the past three years. She will oversee 111 schools with an approximate enrollment of 46,000 students in grades 4-12, according to a DCPS spokesperson.
The D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association made similar news last year when
Coolidge (Washington, D.C.) hired Natalie Randolph to coach the football team. Believed to be the only female football coach in the United States, Randolph went 4-5 in her first season but led Coolidge to a 7-2 regular season finish this year.
Evans, meanwhile, will try to get the D.C.I.A.A. back on track after a rocky start to the 2011 season. Several teams cancelled their season openers due to lack of eligible players. Fights in three games caused teams to forfeit games and last year's Turkey Bowl was marred by eligibility issues.
"We are going to enforce the rules," Evans told the Post. "First and foremost, the athletic department is going to make sure we're enforcing the rules and we do want to work to improve the image and the visibility of our athletic department and all of our sporting events."
Evans replaces Willie Jackson, who spent just three months on the job. Jackson had replaced Marcus Ellis, who resigned in July.
