Craig Biggs was introduced Tuesday as the new Athletic Director at Adair County Schools. His hire was announced at an afternoon press conference in the ACHS cafeteria.
“Mr. Biggs comes to us with lots of experience and with his background and heart here as an Adair County Indian, we just fully believe he will be an awesome addition to our program,” said Adair Supt. Dr. Pam Stephens. The superintendent went on to declare “a new era of Adair County sports, because now this isn’t a part time job, it’s a full-time job.”
“Obviously our expectations are high, and we’re excited to have Mr. Biggs to join us,” Stephens added, before turning the floor over to Biggs.
The Adair County native and former athletics administrator at Western Kentucky University brings almost three decades of experience to his new role. He becomes the first person to hold the position in a full-time capacity, which he said is an important step for improvement within the department.
“I think the commitment by the administration and by the board to make this position a full-time position is key moving forward in being able to elevate these programs, and I look forward to playing a vital part in that moving forward,” Biggs said.
He added that an immediate priority would be filling vacant coaching positions.
“I think we’ve got some good coaches already in place,” Biggs said. “I think we’ve got to do some work on some additional coaches that we have positions open for, but I think moving forward we’ve got the opportunity to elevate this program the way it needs to be.”
Biggs’ responsibilities will cover every facet of Adair County athletics, ranging from facilities upgrades to budgets; salaries; apparel and equipment; coordinating between high school, middle school, and youth sports; and fundraising.
“Finding ways to generate revenue, that’s a struggle for athletics in general, whether you’re at the high school level, college level, whatever level you’re at,” he said. “There’s going to be expenses that happen in the day-to-day operations of an athletics program that are going to continue to go up, but budgets don’t always continue to go with them, so I think fundraising, corporate fundraising, a lot of that kind of stuff is going to be very important early in the process.”
He said his experience in college athletics, including a wide variety of roles over the years, will serve him well in his new position.
“I just think, with the background I have and with the experience and the knowledge of the community, and the history of the program and how it goes, this will be a pretty easy transition,” he said.
That experience includes a long list of previously-held titles at WKU: Director of Ticket Operations, Asst. Athletic Director, Coordinator of Athletic Facilities, and Associate Athletic Director.
Biggs’ salary was set at $45,000 per year. His contract requires him to work 240 days per year, and he will officially begin his duties July 5. Stephens said a five-person panel, including herself, conducted interviews for the new position last week.
