Dr. Robin Hines retiring from the GHSA; served as Executive Director for seven years

Dr. James R. Hines, Jr. took over as GHSA executive director in June of 2017 and ushered in one of the more progressive stints of a director in the history of Georgia high school athletics. He announced this week that he will be retiring from his post in August.

“I have been dealing with the GHSA for 30 years now and I’ve always felt strongly that the GHSA has always been well-run,” said Score Atlanta President I.J. Rosenberg. “But I feel that it was Robin who brought the GHSA into the 21^st century.”

Under his guidance, Hines helped usher in sports like bass fishing, girls flag football and eSports all while expanding the greatness of the mainstay sports like football and basketball.

“I feel really strongly that he really advanced the GHSA,” Rosenberg said. “I am familiar with many other state organizations across the country, and I don’t know that there’s a better one than the GHSA as far as the way it is run but more importantly how it looks out for the kids, players, coaches and schools.”

Hines helped guide the association and the state’s high schools through the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020, three years into his tenure as the Executive Director. The spring sports season was cancelled that year, but through proper planning that summer, teams were able to take the field again that fall.

“I feel that what he did during COVID was incredible,” Rosenberg said. “He was able to sort of set an example for the state as far as continuing to get these kids on the field and was very careful and smart about it. And instead of missing an entire athletic and academic year, he was able to navigate the state through that.”

From the top-down and the bottom-up, Hines knows high school athletics in Georgia, and he will be missed.

“If you’re talking about someone who was not only a player, a teacher, a coach, a principal,” Rosenberg said. “I don’t know that the GHSA has ever had someone with that type or level of experience, and I think all of that combined really paid off and I think we were really lucky to have him.”