Three administrators to receive awards at IBCA Clinic
Allen, Cox and Kilian to be honored by coaches’ group on April 20 at Lawrence North High School
School administrators Jane Allen of Middlebury Community Schools, Steve Cox of Beech Grove City Schools and Steve Kilian of Wood Memorial Junior-Senior High School will be will be recognized with special awards at the 2018 Indiana Basketball Coaches Association annual Clinic.
The three administrators — Allen is superintendent of Middlebury Schools, Cox is the Director of Transportation and former principal at Beech Grove, and Kilian is athletic director at Wood Memorial — will be honored as Administrators of the Year from the IBCA. The three winners will be presented plaques during a ceremony on April 20 during the IBCA Clinic at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis.
The three administrators are being recognized for their support of programs in their schools. There is one winner from each IHSAA district. Allen is the honoree from District 1. Cox is cited from District 2. Kilian is the recipient from District 3.
More information about each of the award winners follows.
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2018 IBCA Administrators of the Year
District 1
Jane Allen, superintendent, Middlebury Community Schools
Jane Allen is superintendent of Middlebury Community Schools, a system that includes Northridge High School and seven other schools. She is completing her sixth year as superintendent after working for six years as the district’s assistant superintendent/director of curriculum and instruction.
During her tenure as superintendent, Allen has brought all sports in Middlebury Community Schools into compliance with Title IX. She has been a supporter of athletics by making it a priority to begin facility upgrades that have not been done in more than 25 years. Â She attends many events, both academic and athletic, and is considered a teacher-first administrator.
A 1972 graduate of Warsaw High School and a 1976 graduate of Ball State University, Allen began her career in education in the Indianapolis area by teaching in Perry Township Schools for three years. She then taught one year in Leesburg before moving to Heritage Middle School in Middlebury as a math teacher in 1982. She worked in that role for 12 years, then became principal at York Elementary School in Middlebury from 1994 to 2006.
Allen earned her master’s degree in 1985 from Indiana University and her administrator’s license in 1994 from Indiana University.
While in Perry Township Schools, Allen was an assistant coach for the Southport High School girls basketball team that won the 1980 state championship. She later coached JV girls basketball at Northridge High School and girls basketball at Northridge Middle School.
Allen currently serves on the boards for the Horizon Education Alliance, the Middlebury Chamber of Commerce, the Middlebury Optimist Club and the Boys & Girls Club of Middlebury. She was named winner of the Book of Golden Deeds Award in 2013 from the Crystal Valley Exchange Club of Middlebury.
District 2
Steve Cox, Director of Transportation, Beech Grove City Schools
Steve Cox currently is the Director of Transportation and Safe Schools Coordinator for Beech Grove City Schools. He also is one of 19 members on the IHSAA Board of Directors.
Cox began his current role at Beech Grove in 2015 after serving seven years as principal at Beech Grove High School. Prior to that, Cox was a high school assistant principal and the School Safety Specialist for the corporation for 11 years.
A 1973 graduate of Lebanon High School, where he played basketball for Jim Rosenstihl, Cox attended Purdue University and graduated in 1977. He began his career in education in Gillette, Wyo., where he coached boys basketball, girls basketball and football.
Cox returned to Indiana in 1986 to work on his master’s degree at Indiana University, where he spent time working with the IU men’s basketball program. Cox became a boys basketball assistant at Jeffersonville High School in 1987 and later became a boys basketball assistant at New Washington in 1989.
In 1990, Cox moved to Waldron as varsity basketball coach and athletic director/administrative assistant. He coached at Waldron for seven seasons, also serving as principal of Waldron Elementary in 1996-97. In 1997, Cox moved to Beech Grove as an assistant principal, and he also worked in the boys basketball, girls basketball and football programs for the Hornets. He became principal at Beech Grove in 2008.
Over the years, Cox has been a member of the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association and the Hoosier Basketball Coaches Association. In 1999, Steve served as the HBCA president.
Cox has been involved with the Indiana School Safety Specialist Academy from the beginning of the program. He was a member of Indiana School Safety Specialist Advisory Group for the Indiana Department of Education, and he currently is a presenter at the Indiana School Safety Specialist Academy Basic Training Conference. During the summer months from 2000-2008, Steve was an Associate Professor at Anderson University, where he taught a class on Classroom Management and Brain Research.
In 2008, Cox was honored by being selected as the Assistant Principal of the Year for the State of Indiana.
Cox is finishing his third term on the IHSAA Board of Directors. During his terms, he has been the Chairman of the Student Advisor Committee and the Technology Committee. He is currently serving on the Awards and Public Relations Committee and the Investment Committee.
He has coached all levels of basketball over the past 40 years with fond memories of times as a Red Devil, a Mohawk and a Hornet.
Cox and his wife, Chris, have two sons – Greg and Ben.
District 3
Steve Kilian, athletic director, Wood Memorial
           Steve Kilian is completing his 16th year as athletic director at Wood Memorial Junior-Senior High School and his 39th year on staff at Wood Memorial High School.
In 2013, Kilian was name the District 6 Junior High/Middle School athletic director of the year by the Indiana Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. Â He was also named the IIAAA Junior High/Middle School athletic director of the year for the state of Indiana in 2013.
Kilian graduated from Jasper High School in 1975. He then attended Indiana State University and graduated in 1979. He received his master’s degree from Indiana State in 1984.
After college, Kilian was hired as a teacher and coach at Wood Memorial High School.  He was head football coach for 12 years. He also was the boys’ basketball coach for four years, guiding the Trojans to a 34-60 mark from 2008-12 that included a Class A sectional title in 2011. Kilian also was the school’s baseball coach previously for 13 years. Recently, he came back to coach baseball again and has been the Trojans’ baseball coach for the past three years.
Kilian and his wife, Judy, are parents of five adult children. They also have seven grandchildren.
