Growing up and attending school in Litchfield gave Josh Fenton advantages he didn’t really think about until after he left his hometown.
“At the time, and shortly thereafter, I didn’t really have any different perspective,” Fenton said. “I just thought, naively, that this is what everybody’s community and school experience was. But there’s no doubt that (growing up here) prepared me for what was coming next.”
What came next was a lot, not the least of which is his current job as commissioner of The Summit League, an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference.
There have been plenty of other impressive entries on the 1997 Litchfield High School graduate’s resume, including nine years as commissioner of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference and several years as senior associate athletic director for finance and administration at Miami (Ohio) University.
The culmination of the duties, as well as other personal and professional highlights, will bring Fenton back home Friday when he will be inducted, along with two others, into the Litchfield High School Hall of Fame.
“I think, for me, two words come to mind,” Fenton said when asked to describe his reaction to his Hall of Fame nomination. “I’m certainly honored and very humbled by the recognition. Litchfield High School has produced many, many great citizens across our country, and I guess to be honored in some distinctive way … I’m honored and very humbled.”
Though “college conference commissioner” was not something on his list of career objectives when he was attending LHS, the experiences he gained in the classroom — and athletic fields — in Litchfield certainly set the stage for it, he said. Those experiences extend far beyond the professional tract and into his personal life, as well.
“A lot of the values that I think I embody in my life started because of the kind of strong value system around the Litchfield community — what was taught through the high school,” Fenton said. “And a lot, to be honest with you, is a reflection of my parents (Chuck and Sue Fenton), the manner they believed myself and my sister should be brought up.
“But I also think it extended across the community — the community itself embodied the same value system, like family and sense of community, discipline, work ethic, things like that,” he added. “They’re a part of my life today because of my family upbringing, my parents first and foremost, but then also just being around the Litchfield community and certainly everything through the high school.’
That value system might be best illustrated by the fact that in his list of accomplishments provided to the LHS Hall of Fame committee, Fenton included professional and personal achievements:
- Over 20 years of service to NCAA Division I college athletics;
- NCAA Division I conference commissioner;
- Dedicated to the holistic development of student athletes; and
- Proud husband and father of three boys.
Asked by the committee what he thought his greatest contribution to society was, Fenton admitted that formulating an answer was difficult.
“The industry I work with, and its impact on the greater good of society is overemphasized too many times,” Fenton wrote. “However, for those of us who work in college athletics, we work in the industry to focus on furthering the lives of young adults through an intertwined experience of academics and athletics. We are in the human development business, and college athletics is one of the greatest human development models our world has. I am very proud to be a small part of the leadership group that supports this development in the context of sport.”
Athletics was a big part of Fenton’s high school experience, one in which he earned a couple of significant firsts in LHS sports history.
“I think during that time (in high school), I was focused on, No. 1, being the best student that I could be,” Fenton said. “And No. 2, sports was very important to me. I wanted to excel and progress and be the best athlete I could. And I was fortunate to do some things around the sport of golf.”
He won the state golf championship during his junior year in 1996, then took second at state in his senior season. Fenton also was a member of the first Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato hockey team to qualify for the state tournament in 1996.
“There were a lot of great experiences for me, certainly many of them connected to golf and winning a state championship,” Fenton said. “But I would put that (state hockey tournament) up there with any other one. That was an amazing experience. It’s something I will never forget.”
He expects that joining the LHS Hall of Fame will be another of those unforgettable experiences, and as he contemplated its meaning, Fenton also offered advice to students making their way through the school today.
“We live in a very transactional world and extremely competitive society,” Fenton said. “Someone’s worth seems to be measured by a ‘what have you done for me lately’ mentality. I believe this leads to diminished personal relationships and significant pressures faced by our younger population. It is important to ground your life around meaningful relationships and concerting your own efforts to what brings you happiness, all the while staying disciplined and focused towards your goals.”
