|
Texas UIL Director William Farney reflects on nearly half a century working in public education
By Amy E. Lemen
In looking back on a career that spans decades, one can often pinpoint defining moments. It might be a prudent decision made under pressure, a timely promotion, or a high-profile award bestowed by peers and industry.
But for Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL) Director William Farney, who retires at the end of this month after more than 30 years in education, there have been several moments. The first was brought about by a game of marbles.
“In elementary school, there was a strict rule on the playground that you couldn’t play ‘keeps’ in marbles — that you couldn’t keep the other player’s marble if you shot it out of the circle, because it caused a lot of fights,” Farney explains.
Farney got caught playing keeps one day, and his teacher came up with a fitting “punishment” for the tenacious fifth grader: take that competitive spirit to the UIL playing grounds.
His early introduction to UIL contests, which were launched in Texas public schools in 1913 as an advanced supplement to the statewide teaching curriculum, defined Farney on many levels.
“One of the most trying times for me was a prose competition in ninth grade; only so many students could advance,” he says. “You learn a lot about self-realization and performance under pressure.”
Farney ended up at the district prose competition that year and then went on to the regional contest at North Texas State University in Denton, where he placed second.
Another defining moment occurred during Farney’s teen years.
“I had an English teacher in high school who encouraged me to go to college,” he recalls. “No one in my family had ever gone, and it seemed a far and remote possibility.”
That spark — that belief in another person — is what propelled Farney first to Paris Junior College and then to the University of Tulsa on a full scholarship to play football. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English, but he didn’t stop there. Farney also has a master’s degree in education administration and a doctorate in education from Baylor University.
In 1962, he launched his career in education, taking a job as a junior high school English teacher in Tulsa. Farney eventually moved into administration and, at the tender age of 29, he was named the superintendent of Crawford ISD. Along the way, he served as a coach, often teaching five classes and coaching both football and basketball — even while he was serving as a high school principal. As a coach, Farney was instrumental in launching girls’ high school sports leagues, long before Title IX was passed in 1972. In fact, as superintendent of Crawford ISD, the girls’ basketball team, under his tutelage, won the state championship in 1975.
While at Crawford, from 1970 to 1977, Farney also helped start the district’s first high school girls’ track team. He asked the Texas Track Coaches Association and UIL to sponsor the first state meet. They did, and that moment set the stage for Farney’s future career with UIL.
He joined the organization in 1977 at the age of 37 as the assistant director and athletic director, working under Executive Director Bailey Marshall. In many ways, it was a perfect match.
“As someone who’d been a coach and a participant [in UIL contests], I was well aware of the big picture of UIL, but I had to learn the league rules and procedures,” Farney says. “I had a very good mentor in Dr. Marshall; he was invaluable and knew some of the blind canyons and problems I might face."
And there were many, including multiple lawsuits surrounding ineligible players. Farney says the late 1970s and early 1980s were tumultuous times, marred by legal actions and time in court defending league rules. Players were ruled ineligible if they didn’t live in the school district, if they were over the age limit (turning 19 before Sept. 1), or if they made failing grades in academic courses.
“The first 10 years at UIL were just repeated legal actions,” he recalls. “We at UIL had reached that stage in our development where people wouldn’t accept the rules and decided to go to court and fight them.”
Those were tough times, but Farney says he never thought about quitting.
“I once told a reporter that we didn’t like the legal actions we were getting, but that everyone had a right to address their grievances in court,” he says.
One of the biggest controversies centered on Dallas Carter High School in 1988. The school’s winning football team included an ineligible player who regularly participated in the games; in a lawsuit, the school district protested the “no pass, no play” ruling. While the case was still being decided in court, Dallas Carter, with its ineligible player on the field, faced off against Judson ISD’s Judson High School in the UIL state championship game — and won. Farney presented the trophy to the triumphant Dallas Carter High School team.
“The Dallas Morning News said ‘Dr. Farney presented the trophy with grace and dignity,’ and I did,” he says. “But I do recall that their coach asked if the inscription was in disappearing ink. I said no, it’s a regular trophy.”
In the end, UIL prevailed in the case.
“A lot of people asked why we kept pursuing the case, but our job is to enforce the rules that the schools make,” he says. “If you make an exception for one, you have to make it for all — and that deletes the rule. It’s about equity and fair play.”
That resolute stance and calm countenance have served Farney well throughout his long career. In 1995, he was named director of the Texas UIL, after a nationwide search.
“We’ve met a lot of challenges, and I’ve been proud to be a part of the league as an athlete, as a student, as a coach, as a superintendent and as the director,” he says. “I feel UIL has been a real benefit to competitions and leagues in Texas.”
Farney is also proud of the Texas league’s standing. The UIL’s music program is one of the top in the country, and staff members in every program area are well respected and experienced. They have worked for national music, arts and academic organizations of all kinds. Moreover, the UIL’s Texas Interscholastic League Foundation has given more than $22 million in scholarships since 1958.
“You look at these kids, and they’re the cream of the crop — well-rounded athletes, students and community contributors,” Farney says. “I have a good deal of faith in our future generations with the kinds of kids I see participating in our program.”
Farney says UIL is about self-discovery, which is befitting of his experience with the organization. In his office, there’s a figurine of a runner in midstride. The adjacent plaque reads: “Victory over self.”
“Life is a discovery of worth, and you gain confidence with your interactions with other people,” Farney says. “The UIL contests rate students against a standard, so it’s not just competition, but performance that is equally important. You have to reach down for resources you didn’t think you had or didn’t think you’d ever use. And that [lesson] applies to everything.”
AMY E. LEMEN is a freelance writer in Austin. She also contributes to the Austin American-Statesman and Texas Monthly.
|
