For the first time since its inception in 2008, the All-American Conference will be looking for a new commissioner as Clem Zumpella has resigned.
Zumpella, 70, who also teaches music at Youngstown State University, was named league commissioner when it was formed in 2008.
"I've been doing this for about 20 years now," Zumpella said. "I started with the MAC. I just felt it was time."
Before the AAC, Zumpella served as Metro Athletic Conference commissioner beginning in 1993, the only commissioner that league had.
Conference officials will meet in August to begin the search for a new commissioner.
The AAC was formed as a result of the merger between the MAC and the Trumbull Athletic Conference-8. The original 16 members were Beaver Local, Brookfield, Campbell, Canfield, Champion, Girard, Howland, Hubbard, LaBrae, Lakeview, Liberty, Newton Falls, Niles, Poland, Salem and Struthers.
Beaver Local, Brookfield and Salem eventually left the league and were replaced by Austintown Fitch and Jefferson, which were approved as league members in April 2010 and officially joined the AAC in 2011 after playing out the schedules in their respective conferences.
"The highs were watching the young people develop on high school teams and working with a lot of conscientious educators," Zumpella said of the highlights of his years as a conference commissioner.
