North Lamar ISD Board of Trustees approved the recommendation of Superintendent Kelli Stewart Monday morning during a special meeting to hire Jay Cline as the Panthers’ new athletic director. Cline will replace Kendal Kirk who has served as the district’s AD since April 2020 and is relocating with his family to Lindale, Texas.
“I am excited about the opportunity to serve as the Athletic Director for the North Lamar Independent School District,” said Cline. “I cannot wait to meet the coaches, student athletes, and the community members to begin the process of building relationships in our journey together.”
Cline is coming to North Lamar from Creekview High School in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD where he most recently served as the Mustang’s athletic coordinator. While at Creekview, he also served as head football coach for 10 years, defensive coordinator and outside linebacker coach. Since beginning his coaching career in 1996, he has coached both boys and girls sports including baseball, softball, football, track and field and powerlifting.
Cline received his Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education/Health from the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Oklahoma, and his Masters of Arts in Education Leadership from Lamar University in Beaumont.
“We are excited and very fortunate to have the opportunity to welcome our new athletic director Mr. Jay Cline to North Lamar ISD,” said Stewart. “Coach Cline has twenty-seven years of coaching experience and thirteen of those years were spent as an athletic administrator. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the athletic realm. We feel that he will be an excellent role model for our coaches, students, and community.
