A mainstay in Marion County athletics is moving to a new position for the second consecutive year, this time saying farewell in the process.
Columbia Athletic Director Greg Owen, who was previously the head baseball coach for the Wildcats for 18 years before being promoted last year, is heading to the Starkville Oktibbeha School District to be the Yellowjackets’ new athletic director. The big jump for him is going from Class 3A to 6A.
“I’m excited for coach Owen,” Columbia superintendent Jason Harris said. “His goal all along had been to be a (Class) 6A athletic director so I’m sad to lose him, but I’m also excited for him and his family.”
The search for a new athletic director will begin soon, and Harris said he’s looking for someone who expects excellence, is supportive and has a vision for Columbia’s athletics.
“We want someone who can take our program where it is and make it better,” he added. “That’s not a knock on coach Owen — I think he did make it better — but we want someone who can take it, look at it, see potential for growth and move it forward.”
Owen said he and his family are really excited about the opportunity and challenge but that it was a difficult call.
“It was a tough decision because of the people of Columbia have been so good to us for long,” he said. “It was an opportunity to work on the 6A level. More than anything it was taking what we’ve done here in Columbia and putting it on a 6A level and to be able to be challenged at that level.”
Leading Columbia baseball to its first ever state championship in 2011 stands out to Owen concerning his time as a Wildcat, but the bonds he forged along the way stick out more to him.
“More important than winning a championship and receiving a ring was building relationships with those young men. On that particular team we had so many leaders. It’s evident now looking back it and seeing how those guys have progressed and where they are at now in life. The journey of getting to that was so overwhelming,” he said.
On the way to the title, Owen recalled how many people showed up for the games, especially when it mattered most.
“I remember a time in the playoffs, and there was no room left in the park. I looked up from the third base coaching box, and I saw the whole football side of the stadium lined with people watching the game,” he said. “That was so fun.”
Owen added the relationships with his “all-star” assistant coaches stands out, as does the competition with West Marion. He said playing the Trojans always brought out the best in both squads and created an electric atmosphere for the entire community.
He said his players also made him go from a person so focused on doing things one way to opening up and letting them be who they were.
“The impact of those guys throughout the years have changed and helped make me who I am today,” he said.
While making sure the district’s distance learning has got off to a good start has been the main focus for Harris recently, he said he would like to have someone in place before the April board meeting but won’t rush it just to get it done. Owen will finish out the school year and start his new job July 1.
Another recent move in the athletic program was head basketball coach Charlie James stepping down as both the boys and girls coach to focus only on the girls. Harris said the primary reason was because it’s very difficult for a coach to give his all to two teams at the same time, particularly in the playoffs when the girls and boys play on back-to-back nights.
“In the past few years, both teams have made the playoffs then you run into this situation where the girls play on Monday and the boys play on Tuesday. You’re off to coach the girls playoff game, and you don’t get to coach your boys teams. For us I think it was time to have someone focus solely on (one) team,” Harris explained.
Columbia’s hiring of a new boys coach is in the process now, and Harris said it’s a possibility to have it done by the April meeting.
Pictured Above: Columbia Athletic Director Greg Owen celebrates beating West Marion in April 2018 when he was head baseball coach. Owen, who was recently hired to lead the athletics program at the 6A school district in Starkville, said playing West Marion was always among his favorite moments. He led CHS baseball to a state title in 2011. | File Photo
