I haven't found anyone who could tell me exactly what this position entails.
Is a Masters degree really necessary to schedule Refs and games?

Depending on how many hats they are required to wear...an on task (finishing everything), great planner, great communicator and people person should fit the mold with or without a degree. Most important for the organazation will be a man (or women) of integrity. Let you yes be yes and your no be no! Everything else will be a bonus!

Telsa, do you want to be an AD?

WIKIPEDIA
An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs. At some colleges, the athletic director may hold academic rank but this practice is on the case. At most colleges, he/she is not a faculty member but a full-time administrator.

There has to be an AD so they know where to put all the junk mail addressed to AD.

Somebody has to be there to fire the coach if they lose too much or get too big for their britches...

An AD is someone you want on your side. Otherwise, it makes for a not so good situation.

depends on what kind of AD you get and what kind of influence they are allowed to have on the ENTIRE athletic program. It can be good or bad that way. just depends I guess on a schools preference.

In Montana all the AD does is draw a larger paycheck...

Well, that is after he is the first one to every single game (Jr high B-ball inculded) to organize the set up and direct traffic. The last one to go home after all the teams have showered, left, the bleachers are cleaned up, and the scoreboard gets turned off.

Then during the off-season they get to travel around the state and "schedule" all the games. After which they get to rush home to diffuse a parent/coaching conflict.

AD's get the best seat in the stands and gets to watch all the games for FREE (unless they are coaching--then they get paid twice to be there). All they have to do is be there to escort the inbred locals out when they choose to become ignorant inbred locals.

In between times they have to make sure that all the athletes are eligible, and all the different coaches are current on their certifications.

Piece of Cake job....

AD's don't really have a real job. Where I work we've got a lot of Vice-Presidents, and the joke is that the next Vice-President position will be Vice-President to keep up will all the other Vice-Presidents.

Wow this stuff is great! (well most of it)

Of course I would like to have more influence over the program as a whole.
I think I have some good ideas, but haven't had that confirmed yet by the guys I work with.
Everyone I know figures I'm just a newbie but then fail miserably to inform me of everything that's absolutely necessary and then jumps my case when I take my best guess and fall short.
That's why I thought to ask you guys.
Some of you are actually doing AD/HC work, or have in the past, and I needed more specifics so that I could get ready faster.
Maybe this should be a topic at coaches school/clinics? Or a roundtable Q & A type of discussion.
I'm not trying to dis anyone, just find out more, faster.

Hey Coach, maybe we at TCAL could host a Road to Administration clinic! lol, just kidding! Blessings on your quest for a job that can be very rewarding! Remember to do it for Jesus' sake (2 Cor 4:5) and the Lord will bless it!

The AD should handle the "outside the lines" stuff ... budgeting, administration, personnel (of course, in most public and many private schools that is done with support staff) and policy for the athletic programs. Or, implementing the policy that has been handed down to you (from administrations, school boards or church/school leadership).

Coaches coach their individual sport, but your school has multiple sports programs (and often, multiple teams in each sport). You need to allocate resources to each sport, each team. And sometime, that means saying "no" when "no" needs to be said.