Wall back home as Trinity’s AD
By John Sacco
For the Observer-Reporter
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
Mike Wall is glad to be home – at Trinity High School.
He was hired recently as the Hillers’ athletic director. According to the pre meeting “Agenda Item Details” on the district website, Wall was to be hired at an annual salary $98,000 for a one-year agreement. He was approved by the board by an 8-1 vote.
“We’re thrilled to welcome him back home to Trinity. His experience, leadership, deep roots in the community and his being a former successful student-athlete here at Trinity makes him a perfect fit,” said superintendent Dr. Michael P. Lucas. “He has a wealth of experience with Texas programs, which are high profile, larger schools, larger venues and larger participation from students and fans. We think we can benefit from the experience he had leading teams in Texas.”
As for the one-year contract, Lucas added: “Most administrators negotiate their contract with the administration. That’s how it was negotiated.”
As for Wall, he said he couldn’t be happier.
“Yeah, absolutely it’s just the pride I have in the school,” Wall said. “I have pride in that place and coming back and moving back home. I just wanted to be part of that. It was a major factor, for sure. I always kept in the loop of how things were going over the years, but the ability or the opportunity to come home and be a part of that to help even take a next step was something that I jumped at.”
Wall, 47, was an athletic director for about eight years and he was a football coach in Texas. He also coached “a bunch of sports the last eight years.”
In August, he was hired as McGuffey’s athletic director, succeeding Ed Dalton.
At Trinity, Wall is succeeding Ricci Rich, who announced his resignation this summer.
Wall attended the University of Tulsa on a full football scholarship and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education and a minor in history before obtaining a master’s degree in teaching, history and education. He was a four-year letterwinner at Tulsa and was a two-year starter and a team captain. While at Tulsa, Wall served as a graduate assistant coach for the football program.
For the past four years, Wall has been director of athletics and head football coach at Willis High School in Willis, Texas, helping the team reach the Class 6A state playoffs the last two seasons and winning the bi-district championship in 2021.
“The McGuffey job came along and I was like, ‘man what a nice opportunity,'” Wall said. “I was happy to be coming back home, then I couldn’t believe when Trinity came open and I know Ricci Rich well. He informed me of McGuffey’s opening and then, of course, he informed me of Trinity’s opening. Just the opportunity to go there … it just made a lot of sense in a lot of ways.
“I think my championship mentality and just the way that I’ve seen excellent athletic programs being run for really all my life. I’ve been in sports. I have been involved around (Washington County) since little leagues through Trinity and through college. I’ve seen what excellence looks like and I think that I can bring a lot of those experiences here. I’ve been at top-notch athletic departments and I’ve seen some things that are going well and some things maybe not to do.
“I think Trinity is in motion,” he continued. “I think Trinity is doing so many things extremely well, and I think that I can bring some new ideas, and I’ve been a coach for so long and I think I can help grow our coaches too. I want to push that championship mentality on them and I think I’ll bring a lot of experience. I’ve seen a lot of things and I bring that mentality that can help influence and just keep that pride and expand on that pride that is Trinity.
Wall was an Arena football player from 2003-2007.
He expects to start working at Trinity on Monday.
“I’m very excited to be back home and help take Trinity to the next step in all of its athletics and activities,” he added. “I’m looking forward to it. I have so much pride there and am ready to get to work.”
Lucas added that Kaci Alderson remains as Trinity’s assistant athletic director.