Q&A with Jerome Singleton, the under-fire SCHSL commissioner: ‘I love doing what I do’
Jerome Singleton has served as the S.C. High School League’s commissioner for more than 20 years.
How much longer he’ll lead the group that manages high school athletics in the state remains to be seen. .
“I love doing what I do,” Singleton told The State on Friday at the Florence Center on the first day of the Lower State basketball championships. “I want to do it as long as the membership feels like I’m being effective doing it.”
Lawmakers are considering House Bill 4163, legislation that would abolish the SCHSL and replace it with a state-run agency known as the S.C. High School Athletic Association. Those legislators have suggested they’ll pull the bill if Singleton steps down.
Meanwhile, the SCHSL’s executive committee will meet Monday, with Singleton’s future as league commissioner expected to be discussed. One option for an eventual outcome, athletic and legislative sources told The State, would include an amicable agreement for Singleton to step down as commissioner.
Lou Bezjak: There is a lot going with the S.C. High School League and House Bill 4163. How are you handling everything that’s been going around?
Jerome Singleton: I don’t follow social media because I don’t need someone to tell me what is going on with the league. I am there every day. I try to leave distractions out. Our focus the whole time is to address the things that’s in front of us. Those things we can’t control, it is what it is.
LB: The executive committee met Thursday and will meet again Monday. Some lawmakers have been outspoken against you and the league. How do you approach and deal with that?
JS: Again, I come to work every day to go to work. Those things I can control, I’ll control ...
I am the face of the league, but I have a great staff. I think the membership works well with us. I’ve been able to see associations from around the country, and I can tell you the relationship that we have with our schools is a whole lot better than the relationship that some of the others states have with their schools. I am the face. I realize that, and I have a great staff to take care of the day-to-day stuff so I can be the face. I get credit for a lot of things that I probably don’t need credit for, but I think I get blamed for a lot of things that I don’t think I shouldn’t be blamed for.
I’ve stood, sometimes alone, defending the league. And I’ve got the scars to show. …. Whatever comes up, whether it’s the media or social media writing things about me — Jerome did this, Jerome did that — I’m a big boy. I know I’m the face. So I don’t take it personally, but I just know that I take a lot of bullets standing up for what the league has in place.
You know like I know, I have no authority to make any rules. That’s up to the membership.
I am the face. I am just hoping the membership is pleased with the work that I do because that’s the group that I work for. I work for the executive committee and I hope they are pleased with the work that I do.
LB: You added the transfer rule and other possible amendments are on the way adding members of the state legislature to the executive committee. Do you think you have done enough to appease the concerns especially from the state legislature?
JS: It is a moving thing and as time changes, we need to adapt. I don’t know if that is all they want. We are trying to address the things they ask for, at least things we can. We are a regulatory agency. That’s what we are. There are laws made every day and people are still going to jail. We put rules in place and people violate them. Then, we address them.
We also have put a lot of great services that I am very proud of. We also have an educational component to what we do. It’s nothing to do with sports. We talk about leadership conferences, all the other stuff.
And then we brought in a health, wellness and safety guy, a nationally recognized athletic trainer. He’s on staff, so we place the kids’ safety before anything else. I think we’re being very progressive.
LB: You are 66 years old and have a few years left on your contract. How long do you want to keep doing this, if you have the choice?
JS: 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. 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.
This story was originally published February 28, 2026 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Q&A with Jerome Singleton, the under-fire SCHSL commissioner: ‘I love doing what I do’."
