FAYETTEVILLE — High School basketball coach Barry Gebhart will become the athletics director for Fayetteville schools, Superintendent Vicki Thomas said Thursday.
Thomas moved Gebhart into the position in a reorganization of the department.
Gebhart will continue his duties as boys’ basketball coach but will relinquish his teaching duties for the second semester of the current school year.
He said other teachers will divide the health classes, freeing him for athletics director duties.
“I’m excited about it,” he said Thursday of his new appointment. “It’s a monumental task because Dick Johnson had built an elite program. It will be a challenge to keep the standards high.”
Johnson was athletics director from 1992 until his sudden and unexplained resignation in July. Former Superintendent Bobby New had promoted Johnson to assistant superintendent in 2006 but kept him at the helm of the athletics program. Johnson and school officials have not explained Johnson’s departure, although Johnson had made references to being “out of my level” in some of his newer responsibilities.
In the wake of Johnson’s departure, Thomas had not appointed a new athletics director. Instead, she had left in place the structure Johnson had set up prior to his departure — a split of his duties among his assistants, the head coaches.
Those included Gebhart, head golf coach Kyle Adams, head football coach Daryl Patton, head girls basketball coach Bobby Smith and administrator Wayne Stehlik.
Thomas announced the changes Thursday in advance of the departure of Stehlik who resigned, effective today, to accept a position outside the district. Stehlik had served as the district’s representative to the Arkansas Athletic Association and was administrator of the volleyball program.
Coaches Adams, Smith, Patton and baseball’s Vance Arnold will continue in their roles at assistant athletics directors. Thomas said the reorganization was the result of Stehlick’s departure.
In addition, volleyball coach Jessica Phelan was named an assistant athletics director to administer the volleyball and soccer programs, Thomas said. Other duties in her expanded position include athletic scholarships, senior night activities and spirit groups.
The internal reorganization was done at no additional cost to the district, she said.
“In fact, we saved $40,000,” Thomas said.
Johnson is now employed by Game On Promotions, a company that makes athletic calendars and other promotional material related to athletic programs.