Kolaitis named Athletic Director

News

Wednesday, 28 August 2024 13:25

Northeast Alabama Community College named Jimmy Kolaitis as the College’s first full-time Athletic Director earlier this week.

Kolaitis will oversee NACC’s cross country, Esports, golf, and softball teams. He will also serve as Assistant Softball Coach with Head Coch Joe Guthrie. He will relieve NACC’s Associate Dean of Instruction Barbara Kilgore, as she has served as acting Athletic Director in the interim.

“We are extremely pleased to have Jimmy Kolaitis as our Athletic Director and Assistant Women’s Softball Coach with us at Northeast,” stated NACC President Dr. David Campbell. “He is highly qualified and experienced. In my interview with him, I was so impressed with his insight that in working with our players, he and his staff help develop each individual as people with great personal traits as well as athletes. He and Coach Joe Guthrie, like our other coaches, bring the highest character to our sports programs.”

An Alabama native, Kolaitis is returning to his home state after spending the last four years at Arizona State University as an assistant softball coach. During his tenure at ASU, the Sun Devil softball team boasted 125 wins.

“I am extremely excited to be a part of the Northeast Alabama family,” said Kolaitis. “I’m very humbled to have the opportunity to be the school’s first Athletic Director. Dr. Campbell has done an amazing job building NACC into a strong academic school, and now we are ready to build up the Athletic Department. The future is exciting for this college, the students and the local community.”
Kolaitis has also been a member of the National Women’s Team coaching staff for the last three years, winning gold medals in 2022 and 2023 (15U). Most recently, Kolaitis was on staff for the 2024 silver medal squad at the WBSC World Championship.

Softball head coach Joe Guthrie is excited for Kolaitis to join the Mustang Athletics family. “I am supremely impressed with Dr. Campbell and many others in their handling of the process to bring in Jimmy Kolaitis,” said Guthrie. “I am excited to work with him and Courtnay Foster again. Jimmy is simply the perfect person to lead our athletic department at NACC.”

Kolaitis brings more than 20 years of experience NACC Athletics. Prior to joining the ASU staff, he was the head softball coach for the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His softball resume also includes stops at the University of Oregon, the Greek National Softball Team, the Chicago Bandits, the University of South Alabama, and more.

Athletics at Northeast has expended rapidly in recent years, under the leadership of college president Dr. David Campbell. Men’s and Women’s Golf has been established for some time. NACC’s Esports recently concluded its second year of competition, while Men’s and Women’s Cross Country will kick off the second season this fall. Women’s softball will begin its inaugural season this year.

Northeast’s state-of-the-art women’s softball stadium is also nearing completion on campus, and the team is beginning to practice on the field. The stadium will be lit via LEDs, the grandstands will be covered by a roof, and artificial turf will cover the infield and outfield. Locker rooms and a training facility will also be included. McKee and Associates of Montgomery are the architects for the project and Sports Turf of Georgia is the construction company building the stadium. P & C Construction, a local company, is also part of the stadium construction.
For more information about Northeast Alabama Community College, visit nacc.edu or download the OneACCS app in the Apple Store or Google Play Store. Follow NACC on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to keep up with the latest announcements, current events, and more.