Cody Cole named new Associate VP of Athletics at SCCC

by Rachel Coleman

LIBERAL, Kan. — Seward County Community College welcomes Cody Cole as its new Associate Vice President of Athletics, announced President Brad Bennett on Friday.

“We’re excited to bring Cody aboard,” he said. “He brings a lot of experience in program fundraising and development, and he is excited to become part of the community.”
Cole currently serves as Associate Athletic Director of Internal Operations at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, N.M., but he is no stranger to Kansas. He was head wrestling coach at Cloud County Community College in Concordia from 2017 to 2021 before moving to the NCAA role in New Mexico.
“I’m eager to get back to the community college environment and the Jayhawk Conference,” Cole said in his interview on the SCCC campus. While four-year universities offer different opportunities, he said the appeal of a tight-knit community with a fan base like the Seward Saints is hard to beat. Hometown spirit does not mean small-time dreams, however. During his visit, Cole said,
“I felt the investment into the student experience and development is a priority from everyone on campus at Seward, to be a part of an Athletic Department, with an administration and local community that supports the continued efforts of the coaches to have opportunities to compete on a national level, is a driving factor for myself and my family to be involved with.”
In the newly-created role of Associate Vice President, Cole will also focus on the College’s current directions of growth and expansion.

“We’re in an exciting phase, with the completion of the Sharp Family Champions Center, and the addition of men’s and women’s soccer and eSports in the past year,” said Bennett. “Our student housing is full, enrollment is up 17 percent, and we are focused on doing big things to ensure SCCC remains strong for the next 50 years.”

Cole is slated to begin work immediately and will be on campus full-time starting Aug. 12. His wife and children will also move to Liberal.

“At the end of the day, Seward has a long-standing tradition of being a competitor in both the Jayhawk and on the national level, both of which we are going to continue to strive for,” he said. “I am excited to work with high-level coaches and the great student-athletes they bring into the college, to be successful and continue to make the college and Liberal communities proud of our successes.”