{"id":473696,"date":"2026-09-24T01:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T01:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/473696\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T01:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T01:46:09","slug":"cif-san-diego-section-commissioner-joe-heinz-dies-at-56-he-was-one-of-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/473696\/","title":{"rendered":"CIF San Diego Section commissioner Joe Heinz dies at 56; ‘he was one of one’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joe Heinz, a longtime coach and administrator who rose to become commissioner of the CIF San Diego Section, died Tuesday afternoon from complications after suffering a stroke. He was 56.<\/p>\n

Heinz had been in charge of the high school sports governing body\u2019s section office since 2020. He guided San Diego\u2019s programs through the COVID-19 pandemic and into an age of increased participation numbers.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe was Kevin Bacon, the guy everyone was connected to, the guy that brought everyone together,\u201d said Otay Ranch High School athletic director Judd Rachow, Heinz\u2019s brother-in-law. \u201cHe was respected and admired, not just in San Diego, but statewide. He had a reputation for being professional and fair. He had an even-keel personality that made him perfect for the job.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was one of one.\u201d<\/p>\n

A statement from the CIF San Diego Section called Heinz \u201ctruly larger than life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith his infectious smile and compassionate heart, he had a remarkable ability to connect with people and build lasting relationships,\u201d the statement read. \u201cIt is difficult to find a place in San Diego or Imperial County where Joe was not considered a friend and a passionate advocate for education-based athletics. \u2026 The San Diego Section has lost a tremendous leader, and many of us are mourning the loss of a lifelong friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heinz played football at Chula Vista High School and San Diego State, where he blocked for Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk. Heinz coached at Chula Vista before moving into administration. He spent 15 years as coordinator of athletics for the Sweetwater School District before being hired as a commissioner.<\/p>\n

The job of a section commissioner is a busy one. Heinz attended Thursday\u2019s ribbon-cutting ceremony for Chula Vista\u2019s new football stadium; three days later, he was in attendance for the Metro Conference Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Olympian High School.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe cared deeply for his family and friends and was a passionate advocate for education-based athletics,\u201d the CIF state office said in a statement. \u201cHis friendship, leadership and lasting impact will be deeply missed by all who knew him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chula Vista coaching legend Gary Chapman called Heinz\u2019s death \u201can absolute gut punch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019ve lost a son,\u201d said Chapman, who called Heinz the best football captain he ever had. \u201cThe CIF has had great leadership over the years, but I feel this group is the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

That group includes Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez, Stacy Fisher and the newly hired Cristina Byrne.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way they treat people is amazing,\u201d Chapman added. \u201cOther sections have great staffs, but this group, this office was close. It was a family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CIFCIF San Diego Section commissioner Joe Heinz, left, awards Blake Hollopeter the 2025 John Baumgarten Mr. Baseball Award during a game at Petco Park. (Rich Koeberlein)<\/p>\n

Marquez spoke Wednesday from the CIF offices, where employees were still coming to terms with Heinz\u2019s passing. Heinz recently underwent hip replacement surgery and had lost 100 pounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in the office this morning waiting for Joe to walk in the door and brighten everyone\u2019s day,\u201d said Marquez, the CIF San Diego Section\u2019s associate commissioner. \u201cThis is all so surreal. \u201cOne of his final things was attending the opening of the new Chula Vista stadium. He loved that school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heinz followed Jerry Schniepp as San Diego Section commissioner, beating out 10 other candidates for the top job.At the time, Tim Glover \u2014 head of the selection committee \u2014 said Heinz was selected for \u201chis skills, passion, wealth of experience and innovative ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before he was hired, Heinz served as president of the San Diego High School Sports Association and six years on the San Diego Section Coordinating Council.<\/p>\n

\"CIFCIF San Diego Section commissioner Joe Heinz, right, congratulates Valley Center football coach Bill Dunckel following last year\u2019s championship game. (Charlie Neuman, for The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

The San Diego Section was to host its annual Athletic Leadership Symposium on Monday, which is a requirement for administrators of all county schools. That event has been postponed.<\/p>\n

Heinz is survived by his wife, Chula Vista High School principal Jennifer Barker-Heinz, son\u00a0Jacob and daughters Jena and Jessica.<\/p>\n

Services are pending.<\/p>\n

CIF San Diego Section commissioners<\/p>\n

1960-76: Don Clarkson<\/p>\n

1976-96: Kendall Webb<\/p>\n

1996-01: Jan Jessop<\/p>\n

2001-11: Dennis Ackerman<\/p>\n

2011-2020: Jerry Schniepp<\/p>\n

2020-2026: Joe Heinz<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joe Heinz, a longtime coach and administrator who rose to become commissioner of the CIF San Diego Section,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":473697,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[186304,25634,2044,186302,186303,74,76,75,300],"class_list":["post-473696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-chula-vista-high-school","tag-cif-san-diego-section","tag-high-school-sports","tag-joe-heinz","tag-ron-marquez","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-san-diego-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/473697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}