When Jacob Dunn resigned as athletic director at Crothersville at the end of the 2023-24 school year, it did not take long for Curtis White to apply for the job.

“The reality is, I always wanted to be an athletic director,” he said. “I’ve been in all sports. I’ve coached on-and-off for over 30 years now.”

He has coached boys’ and girls’ varsity basketball, boys and girls track, varsity volleyball and golf.

“I’ve just always been involved in athletics,” he said. “I want to see Crothersville get absolutely the best we can get them.”

He said he laid out a five-year plan at the August school board meeting of what his plans are. He said he wants to make some changes to the varsity and auxiliary gymnasiums, and work on the track, softball, and softball facilities.

“The outside doesn’t see our classrooms, they see our facilities, and I’m a person that believes in having the absolute best when people come in and see what we have,” he said in August when he began his 26th year teaching in Indiana.

When he became athletic director at Crothersville marked the first time, he had been on an administration. He said, “I served as an athletic aid at Austin under Mike Deaton. I was with Mike at the state championship in 2010 when the Austin girls won the state championship.

“I was working in the athletic department then. Mike did a good job training me in hopes that one day I would possibly take his place, or step into an athletic director job somewhere.”

He is athletic director for the high school, middle school, and elementary sports programs at Crothersville.

“I’m looking to try to start volleyball for elementary,” White said. “I’m looking to try to get a few more elementary sports going because I think that in order to build the programs, nowadays you have to start very young to get the interest of the kids into the sports.”

Crothersville currently has volleyball, basketball, track and field and softball for the girls. There aren’t any girls running cross country this fall.

“One of my goals is to get a girls’ team back. I would like to get a girls cross country team started,” White said. “It all starts at the middle school level. I don’t think we have any girls running at the middle school level.”

The boys’ sports the school offers are cross-country, basketball, baseball, track and field and golf.

Crothersville is a member of the Southern Athletic Conference, along with Borden, Henryville, New Washington, Lanesville and South Central.

“I would like to see more participation and that starts at the elementary level, giving them a taste of track, giving them a taste of cross country. We do have an elementary cross-country program, which I do hope builds into a middle school program, and we increase numbers of participants.”

White likes the future of athletics at CHS.

“The future looks bright. I have many plans that I will put out later. If I’m able to succeed in half the plans that I have in my mind, I think we’ll be pleasantly surprised and very happy in the direction Crothersville goes athletically.

“I feel very indebted to Jacob. Jacob took a chance by hiring me to come in and coach the girls’ basketball team last year. He did an outstanding job here. I don’t think people realize what the job of athletic director really holds as far as all of the planning, getting very thing together.”

White announced special events for two home volleyball matches this fall.

The Sept. 13 match against Austin will be alumni night with all former CHS varsity volleyball players invited to attend the match, and they will be introduced between the JV and varsity matches.

At the Oct. 3 match against Columbus Christian, three former Crothersville varsity coaches will be honored.

Crothersville played its first volleyball match on Oct. 3, 1972.