HOWELL — Brian Osborn knew that becoming the athletic director at Howell High School was a possibility when he came over from Fowlerville three years ago to take a new position as assistant co-curricular director.
He just didn’t know how long he would have to wait for the position to become open.
“I knew it would be down the road,” Osborn said. “I didn’t expect it to be after three years.”
When John Young retired as athletic director at the end of the school year, Osborn became the logical replacement.
He not only worked alongside Young the past three years, but had nine years of experience running the athletic department at nearby Fowlerville.
The leadership in the Howell athletic department has been more of a partnership the past three years than originally envisioned when Osborn was hired to work with school clubs that don’t fall under the umbrella of the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
“We went in thinking I was going to do this one job,” Osborn said, “and we kind of decided, ‘Hey, we both have our strengths. Let’s just run with our strengths.’ That helped our department continue to develop.
“We were able to empower coaches and make sure we had those connections with the student-athletes still. Those were things we did a great job with instead of saying, ‘You have to take transportation.’ Let’s just work at what we’re good at. That really helped us build the program.”
The move from Young to Osborn will give Howell the most seamless transition possible heading into the 2026-27 school year.
“John is such a great team player that once he made the decision it’s been full steam ahead trying to get me prepared knowing where everything’s at, making sure we keep the great foundation Howell athletics has always had,” Osborn said.
“That’s the beauty of a community like this is that continuity really matters for our program and coaches and student-athletes. Just hit the ground running.”
Osborn was appointed athletic director with Young’s recommendation.
“That meant a lot, because he has that trust in the fact I can do the job,” Osborn said. “Now the goal is to build on what the guys before have done, just continue to make it better.”
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Brian Osborn named new Howell athletic director
Reporting by Bill Khan, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Bill Khan, Livingston Daily | USA TODAY Network
