Video courtesy TXKToday

At a press conference today, former Texarkana Independent School District athletic director Barry Norton announced his move to a new head position at Texarkana Arkansas School District. He will begin tomorrow at Arkansas High.

Norton started at Texas High in 1999 and has overseen all TISD athletics since then.

“I’m 52 years old,” Norton said. “I’ve got 10 or 15 more years left in me, and I’d like to have a chance to build another program, [and] the excitement of putting one together and trying to build it.”

Under Norton the athletic program was revived, going on to bring in four state championships in four different sports.

“I spent the best 18 years of my professional career so far at Texas High,” Norton said. “We won a lot of games, a lot of championships, and we did some wonderful things. I will be forever grateful for my time at TISD.”

He vowed to bring the same kind of success to Arkansas High.

“Arkansas High is a special place,” Norton said. “It has a tremendous history. It’s not broken, it just needs ways to fix it. I promise you that will be what you see from me on a daily basis.”

The position opened when former director Todd Ledford left Arkansas High after the 2016 football season. Administration received over 40 applicants interested in the job.

“This is a momentous day for Texarkana, Arkansas for sure,” TASD superintendent Dr. Becky Kessler said. “To say that we are excited to have Barry Norton as our athletic director is a definite understatement. We could not be more thrilled for what’s in store for us.”