BOONVILLE — Darin Ward used the past year as an opportunity to reflect.
He stepped down as the Boonville High School football coach in March 2025 due to the consistent grind of the job. Ward remained a teacher at the school and used the intervening time to recharge. He never fully stayed away from athletics, including a stint as a volunteer assistant basketball coach.
The past 14 months allowed him to determine what his next focus should be.
Ward was approved to become the next Boonville athletic director during the Warrick County School Corp. board meeting on Monday, May 11. He said the opportunity allows him to continue making an impact at his alma mater.
“I’m just at a different kind of phase of my career,” Ward said. “I’ve always been conditioned to working with young people as a football coach for a number of years. It was good to take a year off from coaching to recharge my batteries. I’m really eager to help work with other coaches from other sports on ways that their lives can be a little bit easier.”
The 1992 graduate played football at Indiana University under the late coach Bill Mallory before earning a degree in health and physical education/fitness. His head coaching career included two stints at Corydon Central (2001-03 and 2009-13) and one year at Charlestown before returning to Warrick County in 2015.
Ward was the football coach at Boonville for 10 seasons. He led the Pioneers to 59 victories, including a Big Eight Conference title and undefeated regular season in 2018, with only one losing season at the helm. He was 129-76 overall across 19 years as a head coach with a regional championship at Corydon (2011) and sectional title at Charlestown (2014).
Current athletic director Michael Chapman will become the Boonville High School assistant principal in the fall. Between him and former boss Kevin Davis, Ward has a good blueprint for what the new role entails. Boonville has upgraded its athletic facilities in recent years, including the instillation of football turf in 2024. The Pioneers annually host the boys basketball sectional and girls basketball regional.
Boonville has two state championships in school history, both in softball (2006, 2021).
“Number one, just taking pride in facilities,” Ward said. “We’ve always had a lot of pride in hosting sectionals in our basketball stadium. The upgrades we’ve made to our football stadium. Our baseball and softball fields. I’ve always had that mindset of having pride in your equipment and facilities. (Chapman and Davis) really emphasized that as well. It’s going to be an easy transition into that type of role.”
Kyle Sokeland is a sports reporter for the Courier & Press. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kylesokeland or email at kyle.sokeland@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Darin Ward named new Boonville High School athletic director
Reporting by Kyle Sokeland, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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