Stockwell is Butte’s new athletic director
First woman to lead athletic department on a permanent basis
BUTTE VALLEY » After working her way up the ladder in sports information offices of both Division I schools and junior colleges since 2007, the constant travel became tiresome for Melody Stockwell.
Stockwell learned while working for a variety of schools she wanted to impact the
lives of student-athletes, and soon realized she would one day want to lead a department of her own.
Stockwell got that chance Sept. 7 when she was named Butte College’s new athletic director and director of kinesiology instruction.
One of Stockwell’s biggest beliefs is that she does not like to use the term success, as she believes it is a very subjective term.
“I feel like our job is to help our student athletes and students in general achieve their athletic and academic goals whatever those might be and they’re different for every student,” Stockwell said.
Stockwell, who received her undergraduate degree in sport and athletic administration from Gonzaga and later her Master’s degree at the same
“I saw the developmental aspect and the difference you’re actually making in your studentathletes’ life. Not that I didn’t with my previous athletes at the four-year level but it was different — a lot different.” — Melody Stockwell, Butte College AD
school, has previous experience serving in athletic programs at Oregon State University, Compton College, El Camino College and most recently Long Beach City College.
Stockwell is the first female to lead Butte College’s athletic department on a permanent basis; however, it is not completely unfamiliar territory at Butte College. Fran Babich served as interim AD for one semester from January 2001 when Mike Liddell retired until Craig Rigsbee was hired in July 2005.
Stockwell said has worked in a male-dominated field the majority of her career and believes the change in leadership is the biggest change. She hopes to bring a constant presence after the retirement of Craig Rigsbee.
“It’s great but I feel truthfully, while it’s great for that kind of push and it should happen, it’s who is qualified to be doing the job,” Stockwell said. “I want to establish a level of consistency so that we know what’s going on instead of picking up the pieces everywhere instead of ‘he did this, he did this, she’s doing this’ just so that people want stability. It’s a little crazy this first couple weeks but it’ll get that way.”
As an officer and communications liaison with the California Community College Athletic Directors Association, Stockwell has helped create an access to leadership program which encourages minorities and women that may not believe they have the opportunity to advance their careers or possibly become athletic directors.
“We’re trying to make it a more inclusive environment and encourage that,” Stockwell said. “Truthfully I don’t know so much about the north because I’ve been so engrained in the south for the last few years but I know a number of the last hires for the athletic directors in Southern California at least half of them if not more were women.”
Stockwell’s expertise is in public relations and marketing, along with experience helping with sideline statistics, game management, facilities, schedules, athletic eligibility, transportation, insurance, risk management as well as becoming an “expert ice bag maker at softball games.” Stockwell said she is excited to lead the Butte College athletic department and help student-athletes achieve both their athletic and academic career goals.
Stockwell said the decision to leave the sports information office was tough. She said when first coming to the junior college level at El Camino College after moving to the west coast to be closer to family, she was told the teams often competed for state championships. Stockwell was used to working for teams competing for national championships.
After a change of leadership
at El Camino College, Stockwell took a similar job at Compton College.
At Compton College, Stockwell helped with coverage of a 2016-17 men’s basketball team which nearly made it to the state tournament. She had entered the job with what she believed at the time was a temporary fit, however she said that year was special.
“I saw the developmental aspect and the difference you’re actually making in your student-athletes’ life,” Stockwell said. “Not that I didn’t with my previous athletes at the four-year level but it was different — a lot different.”
Just before graduating with her Master’s degree from Gonzaga, Stockwell took a position as athletic coordinator at Long Beach City College, a position where she was able to focus more on the academics side of athletics. That was when Stockwell told herself she knew she was ready to be an athletic director.
Despite never envisioning herself moving to a school in Northern California after working at schools in Southern California and seeing firsthand the rivalry that takes place at athletic directors conferences, Stockwell said from her final interview with Butte College President Samia Yaqub and Vice President of Instruction Virginia Guleff to her research and early interactions with staff she has had a great feel in her new position.
“The tradition of transferring,
the tradition of winning, the tradition that it’s a close-knit group of people that have been here a long time, that says a lot in itself if people want to stay,” Stockwell said. “They’re not moving or trying to jump around. It says something when you have a long tenure of coaches, faculty and staff especially since not all of them are full time employees. They want to stay, and getting here and seeing it first hand how these coaches and staff work together and how everyone says it but it’s like a family.”
In just eight days working at Butte College, which includes stepping into a role three weeks into the start of the school year, Stockwell said has been spending her time getting to know the processes, structure and her support staff of Butte College as well as those with the Golden Valley Conference.
She has created an Instagram for athletics department, @butte_roadrunners, which she hopes to not only show to prospective student-athletes but also to supply fans, parents and media with game updates and possible live-streaming in the future.
“That’s what people are looking at,” Stockwell said.
Stockwell can be contacted by email at stockwellme@butte.edu or by calling the Butte College Athletic Department’s main office at 895-2521.