Newport High School’s next Athletic Director will be Kevin Reinhardt, the school announced on Monday.
Reinhardt will replace Michael Hunter, who has retired.
Reinhardt had been the behavior interventionalist at Newport Intermediate School, but will now take over as the district’s full time AD.
“I know Mike Hunter very well,” Reinhardt said in a press release. “I knew Mike was going to retire, and I’ve been thinking about this position for about a year. Being an athletic director was something I have long thought about. I’ve missed being around coaching, so I’m very grateful for the chance I am being given.”
His athletic background comes mostly in basketball, a Hall of Famer at Campbell County High School in the early 2000’s. As a Camel, by the time he graduated in 2002 he was the program’s all-time leader in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots, helping lead the Camels to the 10th Region title in 2002 under Dan Sullivan.
Reinhardt was the NKAC Player of the Year in 2002 and an All-State basketball Player of the Year nominee. He won NKAC scoring titles in 2001 and ’02. He was also a region champion in the high jump.
After Campbell County, he went on to letter at Northern Kentucky University in basketball for three years and was Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Freshman of the Year. He finished his college career at Georgetown College and was team MVP in 2007 and First Team All-Conference in the Mid-South Conference. The Tigers finished third nationally in NAIA that season.
Reinhardt later went on to play professionally for the Georgia Grizzlies in the American Basketball Association.
He’s been a basketball head coach at Nicholas County and South Dearborn, Indiana and has served as an assistant at Newport, Campbell County and Holmes.
Newport Independent Schools Superintendent Tony Watts said several talented and experienced candidates applied for the position.
“We felt Kevin was the best person for the job,” Watts said. “He has been successful as a coach and player. He has learned a lot from his time playing and coaching, and I know he can share his experiences with our coaches and players. We are excited to have Kevin as AD. We look forward to him adding to the things that Mike Hunter started.”
Newport approaches a big school year ahead in which they’re projected to have their home football stadium back in operation. They’ve had to play home games either on the road or at neutral sites the past two seasons due to the stadium being condemned in April 2022 and construction to fix the issues currently in process.
The Wildcats boys basketball team is the back-to-back Ninth Region champion and are projected to be one of the top teams in the state headed into the 2024-25 season. The baseball team restarted its program after canceling the 2023 season.
Reinhardt was born in Newport and raised in Wilder. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations, Advertising and Communications from NKU and a master’s degree in Special Education and Teaching from Georgetown. He is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in Administration from the University of the Cumberlands.
“I grew up playing at the Boys and Girls Club in Newport, and I understand the challenges some of our student-athletes face,” Reinhardt said. “Sports changed my life. It kept me out of trouble and really, the only reason I went to college was because of sports. I learned valuable lessons about team work, how to win and how to lose, how to persevere through the tough times. Sports helped me in my career and in life.”
