The second-largest high school in the state will be looking for a new athletic director.
Steve Roberts is resigning as Cabot's athletic director to become an associate executive director at the Arkansas Activities Association.
Roberts, who was the head football coach at Arkansas State in 2002-2010, will begin working at the AAA on Jan. 2, 2017.
The AAA, the state's high school athletic organization based in North Little Rock, approved the hirings of Roberts and Derek Walter, the University of Central Arkansas' director of external operations, during a special board meeting Tuesday. Roberts will be in charge of the organization's corporate sponsorships as well as dealing with two sports, which were not finalized Tuesday. Walter will become the new media relations director. Both Roberts and Walter will replace Wadie Moore, who is retiring in March after 23 years with the organization.
Cabot hired Roberts in 2011 to replace Johnny White.
"I'm excited about a new opportunity and a new challenge, and to work with an outstanding group of people here at the Arkansas Activities Association," Roberts said. "But I do have mixed emotions as well. My time with Cabot Public Schools was a wonderful experience. I worked with outstanding people who cared about kids and cared about doing things right, to give our kids the best opportunity to grow, to mature and to be more productive."
Roberts was also the head coach at Southern Arkansas, his alma mater, in 1994-1999 and at Northwestern (La.) State in 2000-2001. He coached ASU to a Sun Belt Conference title in 2005 and lost to Southern Miss 31-19 in the New Orleans Bowl. At SAU, he coached the Muleriders to the 1997 Golf South Conference title.
Cabot Superintendent Dr. Tony Thurman congratulated Roberts on Tuesday for his new position.
"Coach Roberts brought a college marketing mentality to our school district," Thurman said. "He has built strong partnerships in our community to provide resources that support all of our programs. Though we would like to keep Coach Roberts, he is absolutely a great fit for the Arkansas Activities Association. Cabot's loss in this situation is certainly a big gain for activity programs across our state."
Cabot's enrollment as of the 2016 AAA classification cycle was 2,213, the second-highest enrollment in the state behind Springdale (2,440). The school offers 14 sports in Class 7A -- basketball, baseball, bowling, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball and wrestling.
With Roberts in charge of the athletic department, Cabot won state team championships in boys and girls basketball, boys and girls bowling. The Panthers won their first state boys basketball championship in March under Coach Jerry Bridges.
"I'm very proud of what we were able to accomplish, from the facilities standpoint, from the coaching staffs' standpoint and from the way our teams have competed and the way they've carried themselves with integrity and class," Roberts said.
Thurman said the Cabot school board will consider Roberts' resignation as its meeting Dec. 13, but there is no timetable to replace him.
"But [we] will take as much time as needed to make sure we have the right person to lead our athletic program," Thurman said.
Walter graduated from Conway High School in 2012 and from UCA in April with a bachelor's degree in business administration. His responsibilities at UCA included marketing, ticketing, promotions, facilities and game administration.
Lance Taylor, the AAA executive director, said he was excited to hire Roberts and Walter.
"They're going to make us better as individuals, but also make us better as an organization," Taylor said.
Sports on 11/30/2016