Jason Eyer named new Northern Section CIF commissioner

CHICO - A new Northern Section CIF commissioner has been appointed following the retirement of Scott Johnson, who served as the NSCIF commissioner from 2020-26.

Longtime Paradise Adventist Academy athletic director, coach and administrator Jason Eyer succeeds Johnson after spending the past four years as the assistant commissioner.

Johnson and Eyer will flip roles, with Johnson being the new assistant commissioner and Eyer taking the lead role. Eyer's first official day on the job was July 1.

"I took over during COVID so the plan was, and I had a plan that if I got hired I would like to groom Jason and give them five years," Johnson said. "I knew he had interest in CIF because he'd been involved. Just watching him doing that job and still do his job at Paradise I thought he would be a good fit. He lives in Paradise, so there was a chance we could make this work and he could still be at the school site. Our philosophies were similar. I knew it was something he wanted to do and I was retired once, so it's been a really good fit and he's the right person for this job."

Eyer has spent the past 21 years as the athletic director at Paradise Adventist Academy, and the past eight years as vice principal. He spent the past year as interim principal, and has also spent time coaching girls volleyball and girls basketball. Before his time in Butte County in administration he spent six years at Pacific Union Prep as athletic director in the North Coast Section, before returning to his alma mater Paradise Adventist.

"I'm originally from Chico. I grew up here, went to school at Paradise Adventist Academy, so when the opportunity came to come back here it was kind of a no-brainer for us," Eyer said. "It's a good place to raise a family, we were fairly newly married at that point, and we just felt like this would be a great place to raise kids, buy a house and set up some roots. When that chance came we jumped on it."

He also served on CIF committees with basketball and volleyball, but it wasn't until Johnson asked him to be his assistant commissioner that it became a reality. Eyer felt it was a good next step in his career and welcomed the challenge.

"This presented a new challenge. I'm at the point in my career where I needed something different and would excite me about going to work everyday, and this is definitely a challenge," Eyer said. "It's going to be difficult yet rewarding at the same time."

Eyer said of course time working in administration in Paradise has helped him prepare for the job, however nothing has helped prepare him more than the past four years working with Johnson. Eyer called the time, "invaluable in terms of preparation."

"There's still going to be a learning curve as it is with any job, and this job constantly changes, so there's always going to be something new," Eyer said. "To have Scott here to ease that transition and be a resource, that part's huge."

As Johnson departs from the lead role as section commissioner, he is most thankful to still be involved. He will be working 12 hours a week instead of 40, and will assist in any way Eyer needs. Some duties that came to mind included assembling and presenting awards and ordering gear - things he feels are easily handled off to an assistant. He feels over the past five years his biggest impact has been being available and visual to schools.

Johnson said his favorite part has been the relationships Johnson has built not just with coaches and athletic directors, but also fellow section commissioners.

"All 10 sections, even though we have the same rules and guidelines, the Sac Joaquin Section and Southern Section and some of our bigger sections, what they deal with on a daily basis is way different than ours," Johnson said. "The sharing of ideas, friendships, camaraderie, traveling to our commissioner meetings where we all get together and socialize and do the things and socialize and share what works for you and what works for us, and trying to get everyone on the same page which is hard to do.

"It's changed over the last 10 years. We used to go down and argue and sometimes some egos involved, but the group of commissioners right now, and Jason will be a good part of that, are very professional. It's all about friendships and doing right for student athletes and they're doing a great job."

Eyer said Johnson's relationship building has been key to Johnson's success. Eyer feels that was something the executive committee was looking for in the next commissioner, as well as fellow administrators.

"They want to know that the person they hire there's a sense of calmness," Eyer said. "I think there's some comfort that they know what to expect."

Johnson's plans as assistant commissioner remain year-to-year.

"As a head football coach I always felt I was a better assistant," Johnson said. "I've always told him I appreciate being involved, but I always ask his opinion. I feel I'll be able to add my experience, and year-to-year we can check in and decide if we can go another year or if he wants to get someone else in here."

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