Mitchell to retire as Gravette’s athletic director
GRAVETTE — A familiar face on the high school sports scene will be missing next season because Norman Mitchell has decided to retire.
Mitchell has spent 19 years as the athletic director at Gravette. Prior to that, Mitchell spent 14 years at Gentry, including 10 years as the girls’ basketball coach and one year at Pea Ridge. His retirement becomes official on June 30th.
“What I will remember the most from the past 19 years will be how the Gravette School District patrons have willingly provided facilities for the students at Gravette schools,” Mitchell said. “With these facilities, we have had tremendous growth while still hanging on to the values of a small community.”
Mitchell’s career as athletic director came during tremendous growth at Gravette. A new high school was opened in 2007 to replace the former high school located a few blocks south of the current state-of-the-art structure. A master plan was developed for the new campus and facilities for football, baseball and softball. All are now fitted with artificial surfaces. The latest attraction on campus is the 53,000-square-foot basketball arena that opened in 2020. Maximum seating at the facility is 1,801.
Mitchell’s influence as an athletic director stretched well beyond Gravette’s school district. Others in Mitchell’s position often reached out and benefited from his wisdom and experience.
“He is the elder statesman of all our athletic directors in the area,” Farmington Athletic Director Beau Thompson said. “If I have a problem that I can’t figure out, which is almost daily, I call Norman to see what he would do. Northwest Arkansas high school athletics will miss Norman Mitchell.”
Mitchell could be seen at multiple sporting events year-round supporting Gravette teams that earned five state championships in the last five years, including a state wrestling championship the Lions brought home from Little Rock in February.
Mitchell, 59, said he considered retiring last year, and the thought carried over into the start of the 2023-2034 calendar school year when he wasn’t as enthusiastic about his job as he had been for so many years. He made the final decision after discussing the situation with his wife, Shannon Mitchell, who is the high school principal at Gravette.
“A year ago, I felt like I should, but I didn’t do it,” said Mitchell, who graduated from Gentry High School in 1982 and Arkansas Tech in 1987. This is my 34th year in education and 19th year as athletic director. At the very beginning of the school year, I knew my temperament wasn’t exactly what it should be. Shannon sees me at work every day, and she can tell it was time for me to try something different.”
Although his career in education will end in June, Mitchell will still be a familiar face around Gravette. He said he plans to get a part-time job and help with his in-laws on the farm.
Whether as a farm hand or just another individual talking sports at the coffee shop, Mitchell will be known as a longtime educator who helped lead a great expansion at Gravette High School.
“Norman was an integral figure in taking Gravette from a small-school mindset to where they are today,” Thompson said. “He had a forward-facing vision of what athletics needed to look like at Gravette. It doesn’t take long to walk around their facilities to see his influence on the athletic program. He is leaving that place in so much better shape than when he arrived.”