Athletic directors rarely get hardware to call their own, as it’s usually their job to hand off trophies to coaches to celebrate conference and district championships. However, Montague AD Jay Mulder received his own honor this spring, when the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association named him as regional AD of the year for 2023-24.
“Mulder is the definition of what all schools want in a AD, coach, teacher, and administrator - one that mentors all that seek it, puts others before himself, and works to create a successful environment for the school and community they work for,” Fremont AD David Walls said in a press release announcing Mulder’s award.
Mulder has been Wildcats’ AD since 2020 but a Wildcat for far longer. He joined the school in 2006 as a teacher and head wrestling coach. He spent the next 14 years in several roles, including coaching at the middle school level, teaching, assistant principal and dean of students, before moving into the AD position full time.
“It means a lot because it’s an award coming from my peers,” Mulder said. “We spend a lot of time in gyms together, and in meetings. Any other guys in the region, they’re only a phone call away if you have a question or concern. That’s a nice thing about ADs in general. We all get along and work well together because we’re basically dealing with the same stuff.”
Under Mulder’s leadership, the Wildcats have enjoyed success in varied sports, including team state championships in football and (twice) in girls golf and individual titles in girls wrestling and girls track. Mulder deflects credit for those successes, saying he views the award as one for the whole department.
“I have a lot of people in our program that work really hard for our kids, and they do the right things,” Mulder said. “Sometimes it makes me, as the AD, look good. I wish I could say this is all me and I’m doing it all. We have a lot of people behind the scenes that work hard and put in countless hours that nobody really sees.”
