The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Test of time
AD still loves his job after 21 years
By Dave Merchant, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 14, 2008
When you think of athletics at Ypsilanti High School, one name has stood out for years. Athletic Director Michael McIntosh has been around a long time at the high school and even longer in his career as an administrator.
Advertisement
He started his AD career at Ypsilanti High in August of 1987 and went to November of 1996. McIntosh was then an assistant principal at the high school from 1996 to August of 2005 when he stepped back in as athletic director.
"My real calling was to be an athletic director," McIntosh said. "I like the administrative aspect of the job."
As a college student he attended Western Michigan University. After graduation he began working at Detroit Holy Redeemer High School. He spent four years as the athletic director of that school before becoming an associate director for the Catholic League in Detroit, a position he held for 17 years.
"I was lucky to have the people I had when I came to Ypsilanti," he said. "I monitor the fundamentals, eligibility, grades, physicals and transfers. I make sure we implement the rules from the Michigan High School Athletic Association."
Overseeing athletics at East and West Middle Schools at also are part of McIntosh's job. He said that assistant principals along with the school's athletic directors do an excellent job of guiding and consulting the student athletes.
Recently the school has been on the bubble of Class A with a student population around 1,100. When he first started there were around 1,500 students but the numbers have been down in recent years.
Just recently the Phoenix brought back the freshman football program.
"Economics has become a part of it," he said. "We try to eliminate as much as we can. We have had talented kids and a lot of them developing is because of the coaches."
Retired Ypsilanti girls' track Coach Tom Micallef said he was glad to have McIntosh as a boss in athletics.
"Mike is a good man," Micallef said. "He means well and he is a survivor."
He said that despite moving into administration (assistant principal) his heart was always in being an athletic director.
"He is well respected by his peers," he said. "With him there is no gray area only black and white."
Micallef said that if he had a fault as an AD, it was that he was too generous and that he never wants to cut any of the programs.
Ypsilanti High boys' basketball Coach Steve Brooks has known McIntosh for several years.
"He was an AD in 1997 when my son graduated and I knew him from programs I had worked on several years before that," Brooks said. "He has been a joy to work with and if he has any faults it is that he tries to please everyone."
Brooks says that the athletic department at Ypsilanti High has a great assistant (Terry Rowell) or "Papa Smurf" as he is affectionately known. They also have a very good secretary in Eddie Kosky.
"The whole department works well," he said. "This year has been trying with the boys and girls (basketball) playing together. As a coach they have always greeted me with a smile."
When all is said and done with his administrative career, he plans to spend time with his three grandchildren and still be active in some of the activities he has started in Ypsilanti.
He has been married to his wife Carol since 1994 and has two children and three grandchildren.
"I want to head into the sunset with my career," he explained. "I want to be involved with my grand kids and some of the things like the Hall of Fame Committee."
Contact Staff Writer Dave Merchant at 697-8255 or dmerchant@heritage.com
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
TOP JOBS
