For Mary Young, athletic director role is a familiar one

COLUMBUS - There's a new athletic director at Central Community College's Columbus location and campus officials said they didn't have to look far to find the best person for the job.

Last week, CCC announced Mary Young as their new athletic director.

Young is no stranger to CCC sports.  She spent 24 years coaching the school's volleyball team, capturing several junior college titles.

“It was obviously hard to step away from a program that I spent half of my life in," Young said.  "But at the same time, it was a great opportunity and it was a great opportunity for that program grow under someone else.”

Being athletic director isn't exactly a brand new role for her.  She began serving on an interim basis in June.

Campus President Dr. Kathy Fuchser said she recommended Young for the position because of her familiarity with the area.

"She knows our communities that are served by CCC," Fuchser said.  "She also knows athletics around the state with her recruiting, but also with her admissions work, her teaching and her coaching."

Young said all seven of CCC's athletic programs are solid, but that she wants to give extra attention to the soccer team.

“It was a brand new program and we want to get the foundation built and really start it off on the right note," Young said.  "I think we did that.  We hired a quality coach and we started that recruitment process early.”

She said there’s nothing on the table right now about adding new programs, but she’s open minded about what’s out there.

“If an opportunity would present itself with a good fit for our college and our student athletes, we obviously are going to examine it,” she said.

Young said she hopes the athletic department she's taken the reins of will give students an experience that they'll savor for a lifetime.