Clifford B. "Cliff" Fagan

A basketball official for sixteen years, Cliff Fagan devoted his life to the improvement of officiating and administration. Fagan spent ten years as executive secretary of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. Joining the National Federation of High School Athletic Associations in 1957, he became the organization's executive director in 1959 and held that post until 1977. One of Fagan’s crowning achievements was the expansion of the Federation to include all 50 states implementing programs that reached 60,000 teams and more than 800,000 boys and girls. Fagan also made meaningful contributions by originating and publishing Basketball Officials Manual, Basketball Rules, Simplified and Illustrated, and a basketball rules and officiating film. Fagan was one of the most influential people in the history of high school athletics.