Jerry Hughes, executive director of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association for the past 17 years, is relinquishing his position in January to join the faculty at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the Web site, nevprep.com, reported Tuesday.

Hughes' departure, and the decision on whom to hire to replace him, could spark a renewed dual power struggle -- between large and small schools, and between urban and rural schools -- that has been simmering throughout Nevada for some time. Some believe the friction could eventually lead to the dissolution of the NIAA as it presently is constituted.

Hughes' resignation at some point during this school year had been expected since June, when the NIAA Board of Control specifically asked him to provide 90 days notice before tendering his resignation. Although the NIAA has not released the minutes of the Board of Control meeting Sept. 27-28 in Reno, Hughes, 58, apparently did so at that time.

Reached last Friday, Hughes acknowledged that he has pursued the UNLV job, but would not confirm that he is resigning his NIAA position.

"It's not 100 percent yet," he said. "When it's 100 percent I will send something out, but as of today I'm not talking about it."

That "100 percent" confirmation could come Thursday or Friday, when the Nevada System of Higher Education's Board of Regents meets in Las Vegas. UNLV sources have told NevadaPrep.com that Hughes' confirmation by the regents should be no more than a formality, and that Hughes already has accepted the job and will be assigned classes at UNLV at the start of the semester that begins Jan. 16.

According to the sources, Hughes, who holds a doctorate in education, will become an instructor in the Sports Education Leadership program within UNLV's Department of Educational Leadership.

Hughes, a native of Ohio who became a teacher and coach in the Washoe County School District in 1974, was director of activities for that district at the time he succeeded Bert Cooper as NIAA executive director.

According to the UNLV sources, Hughes -- whose NIAA salary is more than $100,000 per year -- will have to take a cut in pay at UNLV, and will not be a full professor there, at least initially. However, he can expect the world of academia to be a good deal more tranquil than the NIAA, which has become a veritable battlefield in recent years.