On July 1, 2002, the man whom The Greensboro News & Record named one of the Triad’s most important sports figures of the 20th century became Guilford’s new athletic director.
Marion Kirby brings nearly four decades of coaching experience with him to Guilford. He received the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s (NCHSAA) Male Coach of the Year prize in 1992 and was inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame in 2001. He was awarded coach of the year awards from five different organizations and is an 11-time conference football coach of the year.
Kirby is anxious to begin a successful career at Guilford. “I hope not only to field good teams,” said Kirby, “but to help promote athletics as an integral part of student life here.”
Prior to coming to coming to Guilford, Kirby built a football program from scratch at Greensboro College, beginning in 1996. The Pride went 0-9 in its first year before improving to 3-7, 3-6, 5-5 and 5-5.
As the head football coach at Page High School in Greensboro, from 1972 to 1996, Kirby became something of a legend.
Guilford alum Adam Lucas has covered high school football in the Greensboro area. “On the one occasion I had to cover one of his teams when he was coaching at Page High, everyone made him out to be better than Vince Lombardi,” said Lucas. “I think that while he was at Page they won 46 games in a row at one point.”
It is no wonder that former President Don MacNemar showed great enthusiasm when announcing that Kirby had been chosen to succeed Mike Ketchum as the athletic director.
“I am delighted that he will provide leadership for our athletic program,” said MacNemar at a May 5, 2002, press conference.
Kirby is ready to provide that leadership and tackle a problem he has already noticed on Guilford’s campus.
“The student body has perhaps felt alienated from athletics,” said Kirby. “When I met with all the athletes, I encouraged them to be supportive of other activities on campus if they want that support in return.”
This is a sentiment that has been echoed by Vice President of Admissions and Campus Life Randy Doss.
“Athletes need to celebrate the passions of artists,” said Doss, “and artists need to celebrate the passions of athletes.”
Through mutual respect and support for the diverse array of passions at Guilford, Kirby hopes that students will “learn that attending athletic competitions can be an enjoyable experience.”