VALDOSTA — It’s not just the Valdosta football program impressing its peers nowadays.

Wildcats athletic director Reginald Mitchell was voted Region 1-6A Athletic Director of the Year by his peers last week for his part in the resurgence of Valdosta’s athletics program.

“Being the school system athletic director in Valdosta, it’s a big job, huge responsibility,” Mitchell said. “You’re talking about leading the athletic program of one of the most prestigious athletic programs around.

“To be in my first year and be named region Athletic Director of the Year, it really is very humbling to know that your peers think that much about your work and what you’re doing.”

Hired in May, Mitchell oversaw Valdosta’s football team end its 18-year title drought to win the 24th state championship in program history, but football isn’t the only sport the Wildcats are excelling at.

Aside from the football championship, since Mitchell’s hire Valdosta captured a cross country region championship, the wrestling team won its regional duels and finished fourth at state, the middle school football program went undefeated, the girls basketball team is tied for first in its region and the boys basketball team sits a half game out of the top spot.

This isn’t a part of a fluke run either.

The Wildcats’ football team should compete for another region title in 2017, the wrestling team is expected to win its region again, the soccer and tennis teams are expected to compete and the baseball team is adding one of the top prep pitching prospects in the country in D.L. Hall to a team that advanced to the second round of the Class 6A playoffs a year ago.

“I see a resurgence of commitment, a high level of commitment, from our student-athletes who want to be Wildcats, as we say, ‘The old Wildcat way,’” Mitchell said.

Mitchell graduated from Valdosta High in 1991 as two-time state champion under legendary football coach Nick Hyder, and after a brief career at Fort Valley State, he served as head coach at Albany High for three years, head coach at Sherwood Christian Academy for two years, and Tift County defensive coordinator for two seasons before getting his first shot as athletic director at Americus-Sumter County High School in 2013.

Mitchell’s heart led him back to Valdosta a year later, where he served as the head track coach and the running backs coach for the football team before throwing his name into the ring for athletic director once the former AD Rance Gillespie took a position as co-offensive coordinator at Georgia Southern.

His first action at Valdosta was to get the entire athletic department on the same page. Mitchell pinned his award on the cooperation by everyone he’s worked with.

“I credit the staff, the coaches, the student-athletes, the administration, teachers, everyone involved,” Mitchell said. “I don’t feel like it’s an award for myself, it’s for everybody. It says we’re moving in the right direction.”

When he was hired, Mitchell said that he wanted the Wildcats’ student-athletes to learn how to be good people, good students and good athletes through their program, and thus far, he’s succeeding in that goal as well.

Valdosta is sending more student-athletes to college with scholarships than in recent years, a trend that’ll continue on Feb. 1 with the Wildcats slated to have at least nine players sign letters-of-intent on National Signing Day.

“Our vision is to become a program of excellence, academically and athletically,” Mitchell said. “Two of our goals are to win the All-Sports trophy, which is more of a regional thing, and to win the Director’s Cup, which is more of a state-level award.

“When you’re winning those awards, that means your athletic programs are succeeding… I’ve made it my business to make sure those goals stay in front of our head coaches.”

An educator for 20 years, with stops at nearly every level, Mitchell isn’t willing to let academics suffer for athletic achievements.

“The phrase is ‘student-athlete,’ so we want to make sure they understand they’re students first,” Mitchell said. Of course, no pass, no play. If you’re not passing classes, you can’t play. That’s the driving force for our student-athletes to do well and do what they’re supposed to do in the classroom.

“That’s another part of winning that All-Sports trophy and that Director’s Cup, you garnish points by your academic success as well, so it’s two-fold.”

Derrick Davis is the sports editor at the Valdosta Daily Times.