Mustang AD takes OSSAA position
By Brendan Hoover
Managing Editor
Mustang Public Schools Athletic Director Mike Clark has been selected for a position with the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association.
Clark’s last day at Mustang will be July 24. He will begin is new job as assistant director in charge of administering wrestling, soccer, volleyball and academic bowl on July 27.
Clark and Westmoore football coach Mike Whaley were both hired Wednesday during a special meeting of the OSSAA Board of Directors. Whaley will serve as the director of officials and will handle fall and spring baseball along with other duties.
OSSAA Executive Secretary Ed Sheakley said Thursday morning that Clark was selected among 30-35 applicants for the position, while Whaley beat out about 75 other applicants.
“We’re excited about having (Clark) on board,” Sheakley said. “He’ll be a great asset and a great resource to the staff of this organization.”
Clark’s experience as a long-time wrestling coach at Midwest City High School and his three years as Mustang’s athletic director made him an ideal candidate for the job, Sheakley said.
“He has hosted many OSSAA state championships and playoff events, such as eight-man football championships, sub-sites for state baseball, state soccer playoff and championship matches, and he has dealt with eligibility and hardship waiver issues,” he said.
The positions were opened to applications in late May after Sheakley was named permanent executive secretary for the OSSAA. He served as interim executive secretary for about a month this spring after the firing of former executive secretary Danny Rennels on March 9, who was dismissed amid accusations of misappropriations of funds.
Ed Robinson was named interim executive secretary after Rennels was fired, but he resigned in April for unrelated reasons.
Clark and Whaley will fill the two positions vacated by Sheakley and Robinson.
Clark said Thursday he has been very happy during his time at Mustang. He wasn’t interested in the position when it first opened, and he was looking forward to opening the new 45,000-square-foot Health and Wellness Center during the upcoming school year.
After speaking with colleagues, Clark said he decided to submit an application.
“It’s something that doesn’t come along very often,” he said. “I got some calls from some people who I really think highly of. They said, ‘you need to go put your name in the hat,’” Clark said.
After going through an initial round of interviews, three finalists were selected and interviewed again before the OSSAA Board of Directors, Clark said.
“I was fortunate enough to be asked back to the final interview,” he said. “I pretty much told my wife if they offered me the job I would probably accept it.”
Although he is taking a new job, Clark said he and family still consider Mustang home.
“We’ll still live in Mustang, and our kids will go here, and I’ll help the school district any way I can,” Clark said.
The Mustang school district, and its secondary athletic programs, has made great strides in the past seven or eight years, thanks to a combined effort from the Mustang School Board, the superintendents he has worked with, and other administrators, Clark said.
“I feel blessed that I was a part of it,” he said.
When he left Midwest City to come to Mustang, Clark said he tried to ensure the new Bomber wrestling coach would inherit a strong program.
He said he wants to do the same for Mustang.
“You’d like to turn your job over and make it a better job than you left it, and I feel like that in Mustang. I feel like whoever comes in and takes on this role is going to have some unique challenges,” Clark said. “There’s still a lot of areas of growth that are going to take place. It’s a great job.”
Fot more Mustang news and sports go to mustangpaper.com
Managing Editor
Mustang Public Schools Athletic Director Mike Clark has been selected for a position with the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association.
Clark’s last day at Mustang will be July 24. He will begin is new job as assistant director in charge of administering wrestling, soccer, volleyball and academic bowl on July 27.
Clark and Westmoore football coach Mike Whaley were both hired Wednesday during a special meeting of the OSSAA Board of Directors. Whaley will serve as the director of officials and will handle fall and spring baseball along with other duties.
OSSAA Executive Secretary Ed Sheakley said Thursday morning that Clark was selected among 30-35 applicants for the position, while Whaley beat out about 75 other applicants.
“We’re excited about having (Clark) on board,” Sheakley said. “He’ll be a great asset and a great resource to the staff of this organization.”
Clark’s experience as a long-time wrestling coach at Midwest City High School and his three years as Mustang’s athletic director made him an ideal candidate for the job, Sheakley said.
“He has hosted many OSSAA state championships and playoff events, such as eight-man football championships, sub-sites for state baseball, state soccer playoff and championship matches, and he has dealt with eligibility and hardship waiver issues,” he said.
The positions were opened to applications in late May after Sheakley was named permanent executive secretary for the OSSAA. He served as interim executive secretary for about a month this spring after the firing of former executive secretary Danny Rennels on March 9, who was dismissed amid accusations of misappropriations of funds.
Ed Robinson was named interim executive secretary after Rennels was fired, but he resigned in April for unrelated reasons.
Clark and Whaley will fill the two positions vacated by Sheakley and Robinson.
Clark said Thursday he has been very happy during his time at Mustang. He wasn’t interested in the position when it first opened, and he was looking forward to opening the new 45,000-square-foot Health and Wellness Center during the upcoming school year.
After speaking with colleagues, Clark said he decided to submit an application.
“It’s something that doesn’t come along very often,” he said. “I got some calls from some people who I really think highly of. They said, ‘you need to go put your name in the hat,’” Clark said.
After going through an initial round of interviews, three finalists were selected and interviewed again before the OSSAA Board of Directors, Clark said.
“I was fortunate enough to be asked back to the final interview,” he said. “I pretty much told my wife if they offered me the job I would probably accept it.”
Although he is taking a new job, Clark said he and family still consider Mustang home.
“We’ll still live in Mustang, and our kids will go here, and I’ll help the school district any way I can,” Clark said.
The Mustang school district, and its secondary athletic programs, has made great strides in the past seven or eight years, thanks to a combined effort from the Mustang School Board, the superintendents he has worked with, and other administrators, Clark said.
“I feel blessed that I was a part of it,” he said.
When he left Midwest City to come to Mustang, Clark said he tried to ensure the new Bomber wrestling coach would inherit a strong program.
He said he wants to do the same for Mustang.
“You’d like to turn your job over and make it a better job than you left it, and I feel like that in Mustang. I feel like whoever comes in and takes on this role is going to have some unique challenges,” Clark said. “There’s still a lot of areas of growth that are going to take place. It’s a great job.”
Fot more Mustang news and sports go to mustangpaper.com
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