Sports

UPDATE: Brian Gordon Accepts Position as Athletic Director in Novi

The Novi Board of Education voted Thursday to approve the hiring of Royal Oak High School Athletic Director Brian Gordon.

Novi has picked its new athletic director and it's Royal Oak High School's Brian Gordon.

Gordon has served as the athletic director and assistant principal at since 2010.

His hiring became official when the Novi Board of Education voted to approve it at its meeting Thursday. Sports practices for the fall high school season begin next week.

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“Novi is one of the premier school districts in the state and this is a dream job,” Gordon said in a statement.

"Mr. Gordon will be an excellent addition to our administrative team,” said Novi Supertintendent Dr. Steve Matthews, in a statement. “He understands and is passionate about athletics. He will come to Novi and work hard to maintain the tradition of Novi Wildcat athletics and continue to move our athletic program forward."

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“Mr. Gordon understands the importance of athletics, and he understands how it can contribute to the overall academic focus of our district,” Matthews said. “He will be a tireless worker for us. I look forward to having Mr. Gordon in our district.”

Gordon is being hired to fill the position after Christian Wilson in July. Wilson served in the AD position for less than a year after for a position at this past September.

Novi has approximately 1,500 student athletes in more than 60 programs.

According to the Board of Education meeting information packet, Gordon was chosen from a pool of 100 applicants after an "aggressive recruiting process" by the district. The applicants were pre-screened to narrow down the candidates to 13, who were interviewed by a committee. The field was then narrowed down to three, who were interviewed by a bigger committee, shown the athletic facilities, and finally interviewed by Supertintendnet Dr. Steve Matthews.

According to the Board of Education meeting information packet, Gordon has the following experiences:

  • Gordon has been employed by the Royal Oak School District since 1991. He was a PE teacher from 1991-2010. During that time, he also served four years as the K-12 coordinator for health and physical education.
  • Gordon was the varsity baseball coach in Royal Oak from 1995-2010. He also was an assistant football coach for six years, a junior high football coach for seven years, and an assistant basketball coach for three years.
  • Gordon served as health advisory chairperson for four years and was on the curriculum cabinet for eight years. He served as the in-house suspension director for three years, as well.
  • Gordon has also raised money and organized camps for athletics.
  • Gordon received his Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in physical education and a minor in health education from Central Michigan University in 1990. He received his Master of Arts degree in sports administration from Wayne State University in 2000.


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