By Megan Wehring
HAYS CISD -- For the first time in the district's history, Hays CISD will receive a full-time athletic director.
With a 7-0 vote, the Hays CISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved hiring Tom Westerberg to serve as the district's new athletic director. Westerberg has 34 years of experience as a teacher, coach and athletic director as well as five state football championships on his record.
“This is monumental for Hays CISD,” said Superintendent Dr. Eric Wright in a news release. “We are excited to have Westerberg join our family. He is a renowned coach in Texas with a winning record and he’ll help us take our athletics programs to the next level. We have outstanding athletes in Hays CISD, including most recently our state champion Lobo powerlifters. Having Tom at the helm our district programs will benefit all of our students, our coaches, and our teams.”
Hays CISD separated what was a joint fine arts and athletics district coordinator into two positions during the 2019-2020 school year. The fine arts position was filled last school year but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the district delayed filling the athletics director position and a deputy chief academic officer filled the position on a temporary basis.
Westerberg is the current athletic director and head football coach for Barbers Hill ISD. He supervises 53 junior high school and high school coaches, and oversees all aspects of all sports programming in the district. From 2004 to 2016, he served as the assistant athletic director and head football coach at Allen High School with a 148-17 total record, including a 57-game winning streak. He coached his Allen teams to 10 district championships, 12 playoff appearances and four state championships (in 2008, 2012, 2013, and 2014).
From 2001 to 2004, he was a teacher and assistant head coach at Allen High School. Westerberg won his first state championship in 1999, while serving as the offensive coordinator football coach at Garland High School. He
began his career in education in 1987 as a teacher and coach at Cameron Junior High School.
Westerberg was also named National Coach of the Year in 2014 by the National High School Coaches Association.