Hall of Fame
NOTE: Information updated July 2010
Longtime Western Pennsylvania high school athletic administrator and former Rock basketball student-athlete Jack Fullen was one of six individuals included in the Slippery Rock University Athletic Hall of Fame’s 27th class of inductees in September 2010.
A 1963 graduate of Slippery Rock State College, Fullen played four seasons of basketball competition for the Green and White. He was a letterman on The Rock’s state championship team in his senior season.
Fullen earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Slippery Rock in 1963 as a health and physical education major and served as graduate assistant in recreation education at Penn State during the 1963-64 academic year before he began his career as a teacher, coach and athletic administrator. He later earned his secondary principal certification from Westminster College in 1972 and his Superintendent’s Letter of Eligibility from Youngstown State University in 1987.
Fullen was head basketball and assistant football coach and HPE instructor at Highland Suburban Junior High School from 1964-69 and served as head basketball coach, head cross country coach and HPE instructor in the New Brighton School District from 1969-74.
He has been employed in the Blackhawk School District since 1974 and has served in various capacities, including as assistant principal, athletic administrator, administrative assistant to the superintendent, assistant superintendent and acting superintendent, in the last 37 years.
Over the years, Fullen has compiled an impressive collection of honors, including the National Interscholastic Athletic Administration Association (NIAAA) State Award of Merit in 1994, Pennsylvania State Athletic Director of the Year in 1998, Nike/Athletic World State Athletic Director of the Year in 1999 and National Federation of State High School Association (NFHSA) Citation in December 2009.
He has also received Distinguished Service awards from both the Pennsylvania State Athletic Director’s Association (2000) and NIAAA (2002).
During his professional career, Fullen has served as chair or president of several high school athletic organizations, including the Mid-Western Athletic Conference, Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) – District VIII of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA), WPIAL Athletic Directors Association and Pennsylvania State Athletic Director’s Association.
He is currently serving his second term on the PIAA Board of Control and also has held numerous positions within the NFHSA and NIAAA organizations.
Fullen will become a member of a fourth Hall of Fame when he is inducted into SRU’s. He has previously been honored by induction into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame (1996), East Boros Sports Hall of Fame (2000) and Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame (2004). He has been a member of the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame Committee since 2000.
A 1957 graduate of Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School, Fullen currently resides in Beaver Falls. He is the father of four children and the proud grandfather of two.
