DISTRICT I
Janis Qualizza, Merrillville
A 1967 graduate of Lew Wallace High School
in Gary and a 1971 graduate of Purdue,
Merrillville’s Janis Qualizza has been at the helm
of the Pirates’ athletic program since 1982.
She obtained a master’s degree in 1975 from
Indiana University-Northwest and her principal’s
license in 2002 from Indiana State. She also met
qualifications to be named a Certified Athletic
Administrator in 1998.
Qualizza began her teaching career in 1971
at Kennedy King Middle School. She taught there
for four years before shifting to the high school
level at Lew Wallace for three years. She moved to
Merrillville in 1978 as a teacher, volleyball
coach and assistant athletic director, positions
she held for four years before being promoted to
Merrillville’s athletic director.
She was elected to the IHSAA Board of
Directors in 1985 and has served in that role for
16 years. She was chosen District 1 Athletic
Director of the year in 1991, 2002 and 2010 and
was presented the Charles F. Maas Award by the
Indiana Interscholastic Athletic Administrators
Association in 1999 and 2011. She was recognized
with a Distinguished Service Award by the National
Interscholastic Administrators Association in 2006
and the Spirit of Sport Award by the National
Federation of State High School Associations in
2009.
Prior to becoming an administrator,
Qualizza was a volleyball, basketball and track
coach. Her 1982 Merrillville volleyball team
advanced to the State Finals.
DISTRICT II
Mike Necessary, Randolph Southern
Mike Necessary is superintendent for
Randolph Southern Schools, but he has been active
in high school basketball and high school sports
throughout his career.
A 1969 graduate of Centerville High School,
where he was a four-sport athlete, Necessary went
on to earn bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate
degrees from Ball State University. He was a
junior varsity basketball coach for one season at
New Washington, one season at Cambridge City
Lincoln and four seasons at Yorktown. He then
became varsity coach at Wes-Del for five seasons
and Yorktown for five more, winning one sectional
at each school and guiding 1986 Indiana All-Star
Greg Miller at Yorktown. In 10 seasons, his teams
won 104 games. He also coached football, baseball
and track at various points.
Necessary moved into administration in
1989, serving as an assistant principal at
Yorktown for five years, principal at Winchester
for 10 years and now is in his seventh year as
superintendent at Randolph Southern. During his
time at Winchester, he was elected to two terms on
the IHSAA Board of Directors.
In 2010, Necessary was elected to the board
of the Northern Indiana Superintendents
Association. He was honored as Assistant Principal
of the Year for District IV in 1992, and he was
recognized as District VI Superintendent of the
Year in 2011.
Necessary and his wife, Pam, a principal at
Muncie’s Grissom Elementary, have two adult
children -- Nicole, a former IHSAA Mental Attitude
Award winner in volleyball from Winchester; and
John, who was a two-year starting quarterback at
Winchester.
Kevin Stephenson, Beech Grove
Kevin Stephenson is in his fourth year as
Athletic Director at Beech Grove following 14
years in the same role at Fall Creek Valley Middle
School in Lawrence Township. Previously, he was a
teacher and baseball coach at Brebeuf Jesuit for
seven years and a teacher at Whiteland High School
and Clark-Pleasant Middle School for five years.
A 1976 graduate of Whiteland High School
and a 1980 graduate of Franklin College,
Stephenson has been an educator for 30 years and
obtained his master’s degree in 1989 from Indiana
University.
He has been involved in basketball
administration as Assistant Tournament Director
for the IHSAA boys basketball State Finals for 18
years. He also helped coordinate the IHSAA boys
basketball regional and semistate tournaments from
1994-97 at Hinkle Fieldhouse and served as an
official in the IHSAA 3-point and Slam Dunk
contests from 1994-98.
Stephenson was president of the Indiana
High School Baseball Coaches Association in 1991.
He and his wife, Theresa, have been married for 21
years.
DISTRICT III
Brad Lindsay, Mooresville
Brad Lindsay is completing first year as
superintendent in the Mooresville School
Corp. after two years as an assistant
superintendent for the same district.
Previously he was principal at Triton
Central High School in Fairland, Ind., and he also
has served as a teacher, coach, athletic
administrator and a high school assistant
principal.
A 1982 graduate of Westfield High School,
Lindsay received his master's degree from Indiana
Wesleyan University and his doctorate from Indiana
State University.
Lindsay began his career in education as a
teacher and coach in Texas, with multiple state
championships. He was chosen the Texas Class 1-A
Coach of the Year early in his career after
leading his team to state championships in
basketball and baseball. He also served as head
coach for the 1992 Texas North-South All-Star
Basketball Game. Later, Lindsay was boys
basketball coach at Elwood for one season and four
more at Westfield – collecting 45 wins over those
give seasons and being recognized as the 1999
Hamilton County Boys Basketball Coach of the Year
following a 14-8 season.
He transitioned into administration
following the 2000-01 season and worked for three
years as a high school assistant principal and
four years as a high school principal before
moving to Mooresville in 2008 as an assistant
superintendent. While serving as principal of
Triton Central, Lindsay was named District 10
Principal of the Year in 2006 by the Indiana
Association of School Principals. During the
2007-08 academic year, Lindsay represented an
eight-state region for the National Association of
Secondary Schools Principals' National Honor
Council in Washington, D.C.
Lindsay lives in Mooresville with his wife,
Vicki, and their daughters Hannah and Emily.
