College Names Athletic Director

Georgia Highlands College named its athletic director for a new sports program that soon will impact the school's .

In March, the college announced it would begin a in the 2011-2012 academic year.  It begins with basketball at the Floyd County campus. But college officials plan to extend competitive athletics to the Cartersville campus, on which a is going up. 

The center , suspended running tracks and weight and cardio rooms. Officials also are considering adding baseball to sports offerings in Cartersville.

Georgia Highlands appointed Philip Gaffney to serve as athletics director over the schoolwide sports program. Gaffney served as athletic director at Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, NC, since 2005 and today begins his duties with the local college. 

He had coached men’s basketball at GTCC and Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, NY; Columbia-Greene Community College in Hudson, NY; and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, MD. 

"During Gaffney’s tenure at Guilford, three of his four teams earned national rankings and won three regional championships. Two of his athletes became All-Americans," according to the press release. "In all, his coaching amassed more than 20 wins a season over a 17-year span, including a top-five national ranking for the three colleges with which he was affiliated. In that time, he has coached six junior college All-Americans and eight Region Players of the Year."

Gaffney holds a bachelor's degree in Physical Education from the State University of New York College at Brockport.