After 17 years at the helm of the UHSAA, executive director Rob Cuff announced in a press release last week that he is retiring at the end of the 2025-26 school year.
Cuff has been the sixth executive director in the 99-year history of the UHSAA.
“It has been an honor and privilege to serve the UHSAA, our member schools and students for the past three decades. When I joined the UHSAA staff, I could not have imagined a more challenging and satisfying journey. The opportunity to serve as UHSAA executive director has been extremely rewarding,” said Cuff, who also spent seven years as the boys basketball coach at Mountain View prior to joining the UHSAA.
His Bruins’ teams went 126-44 in seven years and won two state championships during his time as an English teacher.
He’s a graduate of Richfield High School and BYU.
Executive Committee chair Craig Hammer said this in the press release, “It has been an honor to serve as the Executive Committee chair with Rob for the past 17 years. I have a deep respect for Rob and all he has done for the student-athletes of this great state. I wish him well on the next chapter of his life.”
During Cuff’s 17 years leading the organization, the UHSAA has expanded from 122 member schools to 160 and grown from 85,000 participants to 113,000.
Under Cuff’s leadership, sports the UHSAA has sanctioned has expanded from 17 to 23. Those six new sports are girls golf, boys and girls lacrosse, girls wrestling, boys volleyball and competitive cheer. The UHSAA also added the activity Esports, which begins this spring.
During Cuff’s watch, the UHSAA initiated the “Raise the Bar” program to promote sportsmanship in high school activities.
According to the press release, Cuff has also served on several in-state committees during his time with the UHSAA: Governor’s State of Sport Awards Committee, the Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation Board of Directors, and the state Board of Trustees for Special Olympics Utah.
He also served on numerous national committees, including as the president of the National Federation of State High School Associations.
“The most enjoyable benefit of being involved in education-based activities has been the relationships and friendships I have developed with such quality and dedicated people. I want to thank my staff over the years for their dedicated and determined work on behalf of UHSAA member schools,” said Cuff in the press release.
“I also want to thank the support of my family, friends and all the people I worked with who have supported me throughout my career. Thank you to the very supportive UHSAA Board of Trustees and Executive Committee. It has truly been an honor and a privilege to serve this outstanding organization.”
