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Troy Burgess named as South Putnam athletic director

Tuesday, July 1, 2014
By LAUREN BOUCHER, Staff Writer
Troy Burgess

As the South Putnam School Corporation continues to prepare for the upcoming school year, many changes are already occurring.

Superintendent Bruce Bernhardt came before the school board Monday evening during a special meeting to discuss several personnel issues, including seeking approval on the resignation of Athletic Director Ken Schnepp.

Schnepp came to South Putnam High School in 2013 from the Brownsburg School Corporation, where he was previously the part-time assistant principal at the elementary school as well as a department head for the school corporation's world languages program.

With his resignation receiving approval, Schnepp will once again return to the Brownsburg School Corporation.

"Ken Schnepp did a great job for us for the year he was with us," Principal Kieth Puckett said. "We wish him all the best and we thank him for the time he was with us and what he did for us."

With Schnepp's departure, former South Putnam varsity football and basketball head coach turned assistant principal; Troy Burgess will be stepping into the role of athletic director.

"Troy Burgess is a Division 1 college athlete and an accomplished coach and has a love for athletics," Puckett explained. "When the position came open I think Troy realized maybe he wasn't through with the sports world and he asked to go over there. We're lucky to have him. He'll do a great job."

Burgess previously resigned as football coach after eight seasons and 50 victories along with leading the Eagles to a 26-39 record during his two seasons as the head of the basketball program, stating he wanted more time to focus on his family.

Todd Gowan

The board also approved the hiring of Todd Gowen to fill the vacant position left by Burgess.

Gowen, an Anderson native, received his undergraduate degree at Ball State University and a Masters of Administration from Indiana State University.

"We're just truly fortunate to have Todd Gowen, someone's who's been a principal at two different buildings, to come in as our assistant principal," Puckett explained. "He's going to bring his expertise especially with technology and special education. Those are not my strengths and you always look for complimentary skills so, I'm really anxious for Todd to be here."

Gowen began his teaching career at the Cascade School Corporation in 1999. Quickly moving up the ladder from teacher, athletic director, assistant principal to principal in just over five years.

After spending more than 12 years at Cascade, Gowen then spent two years at Triton Central High School as principal before taking a role as a special education instructor at Triton Middle School.

"There's so many things I'm excited about, but I'm really excited about the culture," Gowen said. "Mr. Puckett and I have been close for about 22 years. He and I think a lot alike about leadership and educating kids. I'm excited to keep South Putnam as a four star school for years to come."

The board also approved the hiring of Shaun Alspaugh as a middle school/high school teacher.

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  • What a GREAT addition to the administrative team at SPHS.

    -- Posted by cvilleguy on Tue, Jul 1, 2014, at 5:31 AM

  • So seriously...if he says he wants the job its automatically given to him? How many positions can an individual have in one building? South has lost some very good staff because coaching and admin jobs weren't available to them.

    As noted in the article...'Burgess previously resigned as football coach after eight season and 50 victories along with leading the Eagles to a 26-39 record during his two seasons as the head of the basketball program, stating he wanted more time to focus on his family.'

    A good AD spends a great amount of time at the school, which will cost 'Family Time'. Come on South, we have some great potential! Let's look outside the box once in a while to make our school even better.

    -- Posted by SP_Mom on Tue, Jul 1, 2014, at 12:26 PM

  • Okay,

    First of all, the last comment is disrespectful. As a former player of Coach Burgess, I can tell you that he is the best thing that has happened to south Putnam high school. Has the record for most wins in a 3 season combined record. He took over our baseball team when we needed a coach and won us a sectional. Won a sectional with us in football. First time that has ever been done at the 2A level. Won another sectional. And took our 2 win basketball program am made it into a 12 win team in one season. And we played for the sectional championship. Now tell me he doesn't deserve this job. This is the best hire south Putnam has seen. And in my opinion, they named the football field just a few years too soon.

    Congratulations Coach.

    -- Posted by SPAlumn on Tue, Jul 1, 2014, at 3:15 PM

  • SPALum, first off a job should not be based upon the number of WINS! I understand that you played for Burgess as did my children. So you drank the kool-aid! You must have been a coach favorite.

    He would not have needed to coach basketball if he had allowed Coach Jones to takeover, which was the logical step. In turn we lost a great Coach and Teacher! Also by your rant, you give little credit to the kids that won the games...not just a coach, it's a team effort.

    Mr. Schnepp was a great step forward for South to look outside the box too bad they didn't do that again.

    -- Posted by SP_Mom on Tue, Jul 1, 2014, at 4:28 PM

  • Would you be saying these things in front of people? Or is it easy to do since nobody can see. Coach Burgess is the best for for this job. An athletic director should WIN. Losing is no fun and he wins and does it the right way. He is a great person, GREAT dad, and a great coach. Coach Jones admitted he wasn't quite ready for the job at that point. Why else do you play sports if you don't want to win. That's an attitude that people have when they just "play for fun". Winning is fun. And that is what Troy Burgess does. I was a player on those teams, yes. A fairly successful one. And I know we couldn't have done any of that without him. I don't take away from the players at all. I was one. But he deserves credit too. And you're giving him none. Instead of bashing him in front of the county, be positive (as I'm sure you want from the people teaching your kids to be). He does things the right way. And South Putnam is lucky to have him.

    -- Posted by SPAlumn on Tue, Jul 1, 2014, at 7:39 PM

  • As a former South Putnam superintendent told me one time, if we have a person we are familiar with and is qualified to do the job, I would recommend that person every time. Familiarity means a lot. Not to say going outside the box is bad, it can be quite beneficial when the situation warrants it.

    Best of luck to all the SPHS Administrative staff. You have assembled a GREAT team!

    -- Posted by cvilleguy on Wed, Jul 2, 2014, at 8:14 AM

  • I agree with SP Mom. Having someone with a fresh perspective..and not just a yes man for Mr. Puckett is a good thing. Mr. Schnepp was a breath of fresh air. The buddy system is too prevalent at South Putnam.

    -- Posted by Countryguy on Sat, Jul 5, 2014, at 10:36 PM

  • He might be the best fit for the boy's who play for South Put. But if your a girl athlete its the same kind of AD that focuses on the boy's sports. We have a sign showing the 86 State title football championship, but not one of the 2012 BACK TO BACK !! State softball champs. BTW the only one ever achieved at the 2a level. In my opinion more of the same oh crap.

    -- Posted by ou812 on Sun, Jul 6, 2014, at 3:44 PM
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