An athletic coordinator, commonly called an athletic director, is an education administrator responsible for overseeing a school's sports program. Just as in high schools and colleges, middle school athletic coordinators are responsible for hiring and firing coaches and other staff, preparing and maintaining budgets, scheduling games and monitoring grades of student-athletes.
Hours and Work Environment
Middle school athletic coordinators commonly work a traditional school work week, taking weekends off. However, the position may require longer hours and travel to evening and weekend games. Coordinators usually have offices in their schools and spend most days communicating with other athletic directors, business managers, other administrators and coaches.
National Salary Averages
Middle school athletic coordinators are categorized with elementary and secondary school administrators by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the low-paying tenth percentile of the field, the average annual salary for an administrator was $58,300 in 2010. Twenty-five percent of the nearly 222,270 administrators earned $70,760 per year. The higest-paid 75th percentile earned $107,220 in 2010. Those in the highest-paid 90th percentile earned $129,490 while the median annual salary was $86,970.
Qualifications
Middle school athletic coordinators, like other administrators, are required to have a minimum of a bachelor's degree and a state teaching and/or administrator certificate. Some schools require coordinators to have masters degrees. Other qualifications may include experience in coaching, business and as an assistant athletic director.
Stipend Pay
Some middle school athletic coordinators are not part of a permanent staff. Working largely as adjunct staff members, these administrators are paid a stipend to work during a single school year. This is common in smaller school districts where a single athletic director oversees sports for more than one school. Coordinators paid by stipend usually learn less than those those who are permanently staffed.
