The newest addition to the Marion High School Athletics Department is a familiar face: Julius Mays is rejoining the staff as assistant athletic director and head coach for the girls basketball team.
The Marion Community Schools Board of School Trustees approved the hire at their regular meeting on Aug. 24.
Mays previously served as the MHS assistant athletic director starting in 2018. He also served as an assistant coach for the Marion girls basketball team for four years. Since 2020 he has led the Whitko Community Schools Athletic Department as athletic director.
Marion Community Schools Superintendent Keith Burke said Mays’ combination of Marion roots and his experiences both in Marion previously and at Whitko make him a great addition to the MHS Athletics staff.
“We are very excited to have Julius back as a part of the Giant family,” Burke said. “Julius is energetic and a hard worker and he has great character. He will be a great role model for our student athletes.”
Mays is a 2008 Marion High School graduate who played basketball professionally overseas after contributing to several outstanding collegiate programs.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in business and organizational leadership, attending both North Carolina State University and Wright State University. He also did master’s degree coursework in sports administration at the University of Kentucky.
Mays said he is excited to get started in the upcoming weeks.
“I am looking forward to the challenge of leading and building a program as well as getting the opportunity to help these young ladies achieve what they set out to with the game of basketball,” he said. “My top priorities this year will be to really focus on getting to know the girls and their games to be able to put them in the best situations to be successful both individually and as a team. My other main focus will be to get our feeder system going and to get our young girls playing at an early age.”
MHS Athletic Director Steve Moritz said he was glad not only to be able to bring Mays back as assistant AD, but to have him taking the reins for the girls basketball program.
“I am thrilled to have Julius Mays back at Marion Community Schools,” Marion High School Athletic Director Steve Moritz said. “To have him back in the Athletic Department on a daily basis is a win-win. And with all of his basketball experience, knowledge, and expertise, it is amazing to have him taking the lead for our girls basketball program, too. Julius Mays is a Giant through and through, and it’s great to have him back home.”
