Jerome Singleton set to retire as SCHSL commissioner. Here’s what we know
Jerome Singleton’s tenure as S.C. High School League commissioner is coming to an end.
The league’s executive committee announced Monday that the longtime commissioner will retire no later than July 1, 2027, “pending the finding of an acceptable replacement.” Singleton, 66, still has multiple years left on his contract.
The league met in a closed session for four hours Monday discussing the matter after talking about league leadership behind closed doors Thursday for more than two hours. They voted, 16-0, to accept the plan for Singleton’s retirement.
“We will be working expeditiously to ensure a smooth transition and to celebrate the incredible career of Dr. Singleton over the next year and a half,” SCHSL executive committee president Adam Lanford said.
Singleton, who was present for Monday’s meeting, did not publicly comment on the vote or his retirement, only speaking about the league’s basketball semifinal and championship games.
Singleton did speak with The State an hour after the news became public.
“Everyone thinks about when they are going to retire. Thirty-one years here and twenty-one of them in charge. At some point, you have to think about retirement,” Singleton told The State.
Singleton has five years left on his contract. Discussions are ongoing about the financial ramifications of his resignation.
Singleton has served as SCHSL commissioner for more than 20 years, first assuming the role in July 2005. His departure might be the first step in a back-and-forth debate with state lawmakers over the league’s effectiveness that started late in the summer of 2023. The SCHSL — a public entity but not a state agency — has managed athletics in South Carolina for more than 100 years.
S.C. lawmakers have been pushing for Singleton’s departure as House Bill 4163 moved through the state legislature. Singleton reinforced multiple times Monday that he wasn’t forced out.
“The thought of retirement isn’t new to me. It just came time. But it gives the impression that it was an ultimatum (by executive committee or lawmakers). The league never said they gave us an ultimatum,” Singleton said. “... At some point all good things and all bad things come to an end. It is a good time to do it. I feel like we have done a lot of things that have changed the way we look at things in South Carolina.”
House Bill 4163 would eliminate the league and create a new governing body. That legislation wasn’t voted on as scheduled last week. The S.C. House of Representatives instead postponed voting on the bill to Tuesday.
It is unclear if the bill will advance through the legislative process as is, or if it will be tweaked now that Singleton’s planned departure has been announced.
Singleton talked this weekend at Lower State basketball championships in Florence about his future and the criticism he and the league have endured over the past few years. State lawmakers’ talks of abolishing the league began in 2023.
“I love doing what I do. I want to do it as long as the membership feels like I’m being effective doing it. If I’m not effective, I don’t want to work and they not want me there,” Singleton said. “But as long as the membership feels I can do my job, I like what I do. I like the people I work with, and I like the purpose of why we are here.”
Singleton said he didn’t like the news of his future kind of overshadowing this weekend’s SCHSL basketball championships that return to Columbia after a six-year absence. He also was hesitant to talk his legacy with the league but was happy with some of the things that happened during his tenure including navigating through COVID, addition of sports including girls wrestling and boys volleyball most recently, getting recognition for SC athletes into National Federation of High Schools Hall of Fame, adding a health and wellness person to the staff and having middle school athletics under the SCHSL umbrella
“My expectations is that things we have in place now but with a new person, new ideas that they build on it and change some things that need changing,” Singleton said. “But those things that have a solid foundation, my hope is that they will take those things, build on it and move on to greater things.”
This story was originally published March 2, 2026 at 2:23 PM.
