Logansport’s Strong to be honored by IBCA

School administrators Brian Strong of Logansport, Jim Brown of Fishers and Chad Gilbert of Charlestown will be recognized with special awards for the 2025-26 academic year from the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.

The three athletic directors will be honored as 2026 Administrators of the Year from the IBCA. They are being recognized for their support of basketball programs in their school, area and for state-level events. There is one winner from each IHSAA district. Strong is the honoree from District 1. Brown is cited from District 2. Gilbert is the recipient from District 3.

This is the 18th time in the past 19 years that the IBCA has recognized a group of administrators with a set of awards. The awards have been presented since 2008, but the 2020 honorees received their awards in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. No winners were named in 2021. A list of winners from over the years is at the bottom of this announcement.

Strong, Brown and Gilbert will receive their awards individually at a home basketball game during the 2025-26 season. The exact date for each presentation has yet to be determined. For more information about the IBCA, go to in.nhsbca.org.

Strong is in his 12th year as athletic director at Logansport and his 20th year overall as an athletic director. A former varsity basketball coach, Strong is recognized for his support of Indiana high school basketball throughout his tenure in an administrative role.

Strong is a 1995 graduate of Pioneer High School, where he played basketball and football. He matriculated to Ball State, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 2000.

He started his career in education as a teacher and coach at Wes-Del, serving as an assistant coach in football and softball from 2000-04 as well as boys basketball varsity coach and softball varsity coach form 2004-06. He then served as the Wes-Del athletic director from 2006-08 before moving to Peru as athletic director from 2008-14. While at Peru, he also was varsity boys basketball coach in 2011-12.

Strong assumed the role of athletic director at Logansport beginning in 2014-15. While there, he was elected to the IHSAA Board of Directors in 2015-16 and served as IHSAA Executive Committee chairman in 2018-19. He also was an IHSAA boys basketball State Finals assistant director from 2012-13 through 2021-22.

He previously has been recognized with the 2017 Tom Cameron Administrative Award from the Indiana Wrestling Coaches Association, the 2019 District 1 Administrator of the Year from the Indiana Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association and the 2020 IIAAA Charles F. Maas Distinguished Service Award.

In his free time, he enjoys fishing with his children and watching his children in their sports and activities.

Strong and his wife, Amber, are parents to Tate, 19, a freshman at Purdue, and Jentry, 15, a freshman at Logansport.

Former Logansport athletic director Mike Smith was an IBCA Administrator of the Year in 2012 at Munster. Former Caston athletic director Debb Stevens earned the award in 2015.