Contact: John Johnson or Geoff Kimmerly
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EAST LANSING, Mich. – April 21 – Howell athletic director Dan Hutcheson and longtime official Sam Davis will bring decades of contributions to Michigan high school athletics when they join the Michigan High School Athletic Association staff this fall – Hutcheson in August and Davis in September.
Hutcheson, who has led his school’s athletic department for the last decade and previously coached the Highlanders’ wrestling team, will serve for the MHSAA as an assistant director in charge of wrestling, girls and boys tennis and another sport to be determined. He’ll also contribute to the Coaches Advancement Program and Athletic Directors In-Service program among other duties.
Davis, one of the most accomplished wrestling officials in Michigan high school history and president of the Lansing Wrestling Officials Association for more than two decades, will coordinate an expansion of services and support for officials, including in the key areas of recruitment and retention, while also assisting with the administration of wrestling. He currently serves as a major with the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office, serving as jail administrator, and will remain employed by the county while joining the MHSAA staff on a part-time basis.
In addition, Andrea Osters will be promoted in August to assistant director in charge of volleyball and another sport to be determined. Osters, the current social media & brand coordinator for the MHSAA and also the lead administrator for softball the last three years, will with Hutcheson take over most of the duties of current assistant director Gina Mazzolini, who will retire at the end of July.
Hutcheson recently was named his region’s Athletic Director of the Year by the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association, and like Davis will bring extensive wrestling experience to the MHSAA. A three-time NCAA Division II wrestling All-American while at Ferris State University, Hutcheson has served as a coach in the sport at multiple levels and also served two years as an assistant principal at Howell before becoming director of the district’s 90 athletic teams grades 7-12.
Davis received the MHSAA’s Vern L. Norris Award in 2015 for his work in officiating, including the mentoring and educating of other officials. He has been an MHSAA registered official for 36 years, working wrestling during the entirety of his career and baseball most of the last decade. Davis has officiated in all but a few of the MHSAA’s annual Wrestling Finals since receiving his first championship-level assignment in 1983.
Osters has worked as part of the MHSAA staff since 2005 and has presented multiple times at National Federation annual meetings on her work as a nationally-recognized leader in state high school sports association social media. She also is a member of the Leadership Council of the NFHS Network, the national digital broadcasting initiative of the National Federation of State High School Associations. She has worked in coordination and planning of the MHSAA’s Captain’s Clinic series and other student leadership programs and launched the “Officials for Kids” statewide fundraising initiative. Osters also handles all venue-specific ticketing for MHSAA statewide tournaments.
“Dan Hutcheson, Sam Davis and Andrea Osters are passionate advocates for the values of high school athletics,” MHSAA Executive Director John E. "Jack" Roberts said. “Dan is one of the most respected athletic administrators in Michigan and brings a collection of experiences and skills that will benefit all of our schools in a variety of areas. Sam has long championed officiating, and we’re excited for the possibilities his experience and abilities bring as we intensify our recruitment of new officials statewide to join the more than 10,000 who annually work our games.
“Andrea has provided the MHSAA with a variety of skills and leadership over more than a decade of service and played a prominent role in the move of the MHSAA Baseball and Softball Finals to Michigan State two years ago. We anticipate she’ll make a smooth transition in taking over new and added responsibilities.”
Hutcheson also was a three-time Greco-Roman Open All-American at the collegiate and post-graduate senior levels and a two-time Division II Academic All-American while at Ferris State. After finishing his career as an athlete on the mat, Hutcheson served as an assistant wrestling coach at Ferris State during the 1994-95 season, and then coached the Michigan Wrestling Club from 1997-2000 guiding athletes in World Team and U.S. Olympic Trials competition. He served as Howell’s varsity wrestling coach as well from 1997-2004, leading his team to the Division 1 Quarterfinals his first season. He currently serves as wrestling commissioner and overall president of the 24-school Kensington Lakes Activities Association and on MHSAA committees for wrestling and lacrosse.
In addition to his sport involvement as athletic director at one of Michigan’s largest high schools, Hutcheson monitors academic eligibility, budgeting, equipment purchases and facility use and management among a number of duties. He also serves as webmaster and historian for the KLAA. Previously, Hutcheson served as director of parks & recreation for the Howell Recreation Department from 2002-04, as an instructor of applied technology for Howell Public Schools from 1997-2002 and as an instructor in computer design at Golightly Career & Technical Center in Detroit in 1996-97. A 1988 graduate of Holt High School, he earned a bachelor’s degree in technical education and an associate’s degree in graphic arts and printing technology from Ferris State, and has a master’s degree in public and educational administration from University of Michigan-Dearborn.
Davis was an MHSAA Wrestling Finals individual champion for Lansing Eastern in 1969 and went on to wrestle briefly at Michigan State University before an eye injury ended his competitive career in that sport. However, he instead took up judo, winning state championships in 1980 and 1981 and competing at the U.S. Olympic trials. After graduating from MSU with bachelor and master’s degrees in 1974, Davis began his teaching career at Lansing Everett High School. He also coached wrestling and football and later served as an assistant principal at the school before serving as principal at Dwight Rich Middle School and then district athletic director over a 32-year career with Lansing Public Schools that concluded in 2007.
Davis is a lead teaching official at MHSAA wrestling clinics and also has served as Official in Charge, managing those working matches, at a number of MHSAA Wrestling Finals. He has served as president of the Lansing Wrestling Officials Association since 1992 and also officiated National Junior College Athletic Association Finals in 1981 and 1982. He followed his career in education with another in law enforcement – at age 58, Davis attended the Mid-Michigan Police Academy at Lansing Community College, eventually leading to his service with the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office.
Osters also was a high school champion as a starter on the Okemos softball team that won the MHSAA Division 1 championship in 1999. She graduated from Michigan State in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in communications and concentration in public relations. She served as Okemos’ freshman softball coach for four seasons, from 2002-05, and also wrote a weekly sports column for a local magazine from 2009-11.
Osters is a current member of the board of directors for the Michigan Society of Association Executives and was a founding member of the MSAE’s Emerging Professionals Committee.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,400 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.
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