Plutko Quits as Southern Section Commissioner : Decision to Take Job in Colorado Was Unexpected

In a move that surprised even his closest associates, Southern Section Commissioner Ray Plutko has resigned as head of the largest segment of the California Interscholastic Federation to become chief of the Colorado High School Activities Assn.

Officials at Southern Section headquarters in Cerritos said Thursday that they expect Plutko to finish the school year and that a search for a replacement could take at least two or three months. Plutko does not officially take over the Colorado post until Aug. 1, when Ray C. Ball retires after 23 years with that organization.

“It’s going to have to become his decision as to when he comes (here),” Ball said of Plutko. “Our agreement will basically be, when he can get here, fine.

“We were looking for someone who could be here March 1, but we knew that wasn’t a terribly realistic approach for anyone. First, he feels a very strong responsibility for the the job he has in Southern California. Secondly, whenever he can get out here to observe some of the things we’re doing--wrestling and basketball tournaments and speech festivals--he’ll be going back and forth (to California).”

Plutko, 46, met with reporters in Colorado on Thursday and will hold a press conference today in Cerritos.

A member of the Colorado selection committee confirmed Wednesday night that Plutko was in the Denver suburb of Aurora to accept the position. But several of Plutko’s closest aides, including administrative assistants Dean Crowley and Bill Clark, said they had no indication that Plutko was even considering a change.

That reaction was typical even after the official announcement was made Thursday morning.

“It all happened so quickly,” said Moe Chavez, principal at Downey High School and a member of the Southern Section executive committee. “No one was contemplating any kind of move.”

But apparently, Plutko had been for some time. According to Ball, the application process started in September with 35 candidates, and a delegation from the Colorado group came to Southern California last week to see the Plutko-run operation at Southern Section headquarters. The job offer was tendered Saturday afternoon, and Plutko accepted Sunday.

Said Robert M. Packer, a member of the Southern Section executive committee and apparently one of the few people who knew of the decision before Thursday morning: “Ray gets an A for clandestine operations.”

Along with being surprised, most everyone agreed that the Southern Section’s loss will be Colorado’s gain.

“He’s an excellent organizer,” Chavez said. “He has the knack of meeting a challenge and following through on it. He has done a super job most recently in working with the corporate sponsors, which has really helped the schools in the sense that they don’t have to raise as much money every year.”

Clark said: “You’re surprised because you didn’t know about it. But it doesn’t surprise me that someone with Ray’s abilities and skills is trying to better himself.”

A former sportswriter and former athletic director and basketball coach at Riverside Notre Dame, Plutko took over as Southern Section commissioner in January of 1980 for Tom Byrnes, who became head of the CIF. At the time, the Southern Section offices in Cerritos had jurisdiction over more than 500 schools, which made it bigger then the athletic federation of 42 states.

Byrnes and Plutko were both administrative assists before taking over the head job, so the Southern Section has a history of hiring from within. But whether that makes Crowley, Clark, Karen Hellyer and former assistant commissioner Margaret Davis, now an official with the state CIF in Fullerton, the leading candidates is another matter.

In Colorado, Plutko will oversee other extracurricular activities, such as speech, music and student council, along with athletics for the 265-member Colorado group. The expected contract will carry him through July of 1987, and, Ball said, the normal process in the organization would be for three-year contracts.

“I was raised in Pennsylvania and know all about the snow and tire chains,” Plutko said at the press conference. “However, when I left California, my wife was cleaning the pool and it was 80 degrees.”