Q&A: Incoming Greater Spokane League director Paul Kautzman discusses state of the league

High school sports in Washington kick off Friday with a full slate of football and girls soccer on tap. While the emphasis is rightly on the student-athletes who take part, these games don’t happen without a lot of behind-the-scenes efforts from administrators, athletic directors, coaches, officials and volunteers.

Overseeing all of that in the Greater Spokane League is Paul Kautzman, former AD at Mt. Spokane, who takes over as GSL and District 8 director after Ken VanSickle retired from the league position and Herb Rotchford retired from the district job at the end of the last school year.

The following is a condensed Q&A with Kautzman from earlier this month on the state of the league.

The Spokesman-Review: After stepping back from the AD position at Mt. Spokane, what enticed you to come back?

Paul Kautzman: Why? It’s a good question. I missed it. So, the opportunity came up, surprisingly and when (VanSickle) and (Rotchford) decided to step down at the same time, I asked around and it didn’t sound like a whole lot of folks were either interested or it wasn’t the right time for people I respect that I would have done it. I thought it’s something I think I can help out with.

S-R: This is something that you pursued?

PK: I pursued, but I was talked to about it. Once I knew what they wanted, I thought it was something I could do, I can help them with it. I talked to the people in the league that I’ve known forever, and I talked to (Rotchford) and I talked to VanSickle and I talked to (Mead AD John) Barrington and (Gonzaga Prep AD Paul) Manfred and (West Valley AD Jamie) Nilles and all the guys that know what they’re doing.

S-R: No one tried to talk you out of it?

PK: I think they sugarcoated it a lot and said ‘You’d be great at it. You should do it.’

S-R: It’s been a pretty tough job the past couple of years.

PK: It’s just bad timing. I mean, a global pandemic for (VanSickle) when he goes into something he was looking forward to and he just kind of waited and said, dealing with it versus grandkids and spending time with them. It didn’t work out for the right time for him. It’s unfortunate because he’s phenomenal, right? I highly respect him.

S-R: The reclassifications and reorganization of the leagues wasn’t easy either.

PK: The 2A-3A-4A dynamic isn’t, it’s not an easy one to navigate through and make everybody happy. It’s 16 schools, it’s multiple school districts and different kinds of areas. Yeah, it’s unique.

S-R: Folks might forget that there are nine school districts that make up the league.

PK: I think about as like the origins of the nation. It’s like, ‘I’m great with being part of the United States, but I’m a Virginian first.’ The GSL it’s the same respect. ‘I’m great with being the GSL but if it comes down to my city, or my school, or my district, those trump that.’ That’s difficult when you want everybody on the same page. It’s tough to get everybody to agree to certain things.

S-R: Add in the distance from town for some of the schools and there can be an isolating effect.

PK: I get it. Air quality in Spokane dictating whether you can play in Clarkston doesn’t make a whole lot of sense when you think about it. So, it’s unique but I’m looking forward to it. They’re good ADs, good people to work with. The principles are all athletically in tune so it’s good.

S-R: Have you had a chance to talk to everybody one-on-one yet?

PK: I’ve had a chance to talk with most everybody. There’s a lot of turnover (from when he was AD). There’s a lot in the ADs and the principals so I don’t know everybody as well as I would like to, but I’m hoping for the opportunity to get to know them and have kind of an open-door policy that if they need something, I’m there to help them.

S-R: It seemed like when you stepped back at Mt. Spokane you were moving on to the next phase of your life.

PK: It’s not like that only good line from Godfather 3. ‘I thought I was out, and they dragged me back in.’ No, I wanted to come back. I missed a lot of it. I missed more than I thought I would. And so, this was a good opportunity to get back into it and still be involved in athletics.

S-R: Looking down the road, what would you want your legacy to be as director of the GSL?

PK: I don’t know. That’s a good question. Ten to 15 years down the road… that I didn’t mess it up. That I found it in pretty good shape, and I left it better than I found it. And I think that would be a good legacy. And if nobody knows who the heck I am, that’s fine.

S-R: The GSL website (Greater Spokane League.org) has been in flux much of the past two years. Where do we stand with that?

PK: Technology is always your friend until it lets you down when you need it most right? The GSL website’s been kind of an iteration going from one thing to another thing. And I think (VanSickle) and (Rotchford) kind of set some things in motion that allow us rather quickly to kind of get a good site going. I think within the next few weeks, we’re going to have something released to the public that’ll do everything that (the media needs), that the patrons need, that the athletic directors need – kind of one-stop shopping, and it’ll be a quality product. We have a partnership with (The Spokesman-Review) and SWX to share content and media. Promote that, promote our tickets and pass sales (GSLmerch.com) and then our schools.

We have synced API with Arbiterlive.com now so that our games, our schedules should post accurately and reflect outcomes. It’s not going to be perfect, but it’s going to be better and it’s going to get good as we go. I think it’s been a frustration for a lot of people. And I think we’re about to turn the corner and it’s going to be a resource.

S-R: Explain what the WIAA will be doing with regards to the districts east of the Cascades.

PK: There’s a lot of changes in Eastern Washington over the next few years. The WIAA passed an amendment that merges the five Eastern Washington districts into two. So District 8, which we’re in, is the greater Spokane League and the (Mid-Columbia Conference). Well, we’re going to add District 7, District 9 into the mix and be all classifications basically. From Canada down through to Oregon.

It’ll be a unique challenge to see how that melds over the next two years. But one of the things we’ve always tried to do at least at the 3A/4A level and the 2A level when we can do it, is get some kind of playoffs together where the GSL, the MCC and the Big 9 are combining berths to send the best from Eastern Washington on to the next level. And I think we’re getting to a place where we’re real close to having that come to fruition.

I think we’re getting closer with these mergers to getting a true district/regional playoffs in a lot of sports so that the best kids can be sent on to the next level and still make the district/regional round very worthwhile for all the other athletes.

S-R: The number of berths is still a work in progress?

PK: I don’t know what the exact berths are yet because the allocations haven’t come out. But I know that prior to my taking this job, there was a big movement to try it in some sports and then see how it goes and then trying to expand it to all our schools. It’s more collegial than it has been before. If we can get the (Central Washington Athletic Conference) for the 2As into that same kind of conversation – and it may take you know, changing in the classifications or the allocations to say we’ve got more 2As, then we can kind of encourage them to come to the table.

S-R: I have to imagine that the possibility of three-league basketball tournament is very enticing for a lot of reasons to a lot of people. Is it fair to say that football is kind of a testing ground for that?

PK: I think football is the testing ground right now. We’ve had the most traction going that way but down the road, all basketball, track and field, everything.

S-R: You were at Mt. Spokane when the Mead School District opened Union Stadium, now you’ll be GSL commissioner opening the downtown stadium next year.

PK: I am looking forward to it. I had the good fortune of helping with Union Stadium and how it opened and loved it. I spent more time there than I did in my office and would have probably moved my office there had I had the opportunity to. I think (Mt. Spokane AD) Bobby Lee and John Barrington do a phenomenal job. They’re hosting a lot of our GSL folks that are road warriors these days. But my understanding is the downtown stadium is basically going to be very similar to Union with a little bit more bells and whistles. Everything that I’ve heard is that they’re on time and the plan is to open in the fall of 2023 and give our SPS schools a great venue to play.

S-R: The City schools will finally have a place to call home.

PK: I think that was a wise decision. Downtown area, postseason events, just having everything in that. You know, with the Podium coming online, that’s been a real success. The Arena is just a beautiful venue. You add in the stadium to that? I mean, that’s an awful lot going on for downtown Spokane. Congratulations to the folks that battled and got that done.

S-R: What do you see as your biggest challenge coming into this?

PK: We haven’t had a chance to be a league under normal circumstances of 2A-3A-4A. The reclassification happened, COVID happened, and we’re still sorting out a lot of things with who we are as league and how the growing pains of having 16 schools, with Ridgeline coming on, are going to work out.

I think that’s a little bit of a challenge to kind of bridge the gap between the 2As and the 4A because they live in different universes, and they have different agendas. And so that’ll be a challenge. But just continuing on the good things that you know, (Rotchford) and (VanSickle) did. They were great leaders of the GSL.

S-R: You’re going to be very busy. It’s a good thing you’ve got support from home.

PK: It’s a great thing that I’ve got the support from my wife. Julie is a saint, obviously. She married me, so she’s got to get some credit there.

Our youngest daughter is just entering into high school. She’s pretty self-sufficient. Our three other kids are either out in the world doing their jobs, their careers or they’re finishing up college. It’s good time to have a little bit of flexibility.

I wanted to come back. I missed a lot of it.
I missed more than I thought I would.” Paul Kautzman Greater Spokane League commissioner