Cade Wilkerson named East Mississippi Community College’s new Director of Athletics

SCOOBA — Following 11 successful seasons on the school's football coaching staff, Cade Wilkerson has been named East Mississippi Community College's new Director of Athletics.

Wilkerson succeeds veteran staff member Sharon Thompson, who was recently appointed Dean of the Scooba Campus in addition to her continuing role as Dean of Students after having served as EMCC's Director of Athletics since 2020.

"Serving as an Athletic Director has always been a goal of mine, and I'm honored to now live that dream at East Mississippi Community College," Wilkerson said. "Leaving the coaching world, something that's been ingrained in me since birth through my family, is bittersweet, but I'm ready to impact our student-athletes in a new way."

For the past four years upon assuming the team's offensive play-calling responsibilities prior to the 2022 football season as East Mississippi's offensive coordinator under the guidance of NJCAA Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame head coach Buddy Stephens, Wilkerson seized the opportunity to help guide the Lions to consecutive MACCC championships, including an NJCAA championship runner-up team finish in 2023.

During Wilkerson's four successful seasons serving as EMCC's offensive coordinator, the Lions' traditionally high-powered offense was maintained under his guidance with consistent top five national statistical rankings among NJCAA Division I teams in scoring offense, total offense and passing offense.

Headlined by quarterback Ty Keyes earning 2023 NJCAA Division I Offensive Player of the Year honors and running back Gavin Griffin being named NJCAA Division I All-America First Team a year ago, the Lions have continued to send an average of a dozen offensive standouts to the four-year level each year.

All total during Wilkerson's 11 seasons on EMCC's football coaching staff under Stephens' leadership, the Lions collected an NJCAA championship in 2014, a national runner-up finish in 2023, and four conference titles. That impressive span of gridiron success also featured seven division crowns and nine conference playoff appearances.

Adding to his growing list of accomplishments, Wilkerson graduated from the prestigious Mississippi Community College Leadership Academy this past May.

"Stepping into the Athletic Director position at EMCC is a blessing I don't take lightly," Wilkerson continued. "I'm incredibly grateful to EMCC President Dr. Scott Alsobrooks, Dr. James Rush, Sharon Thompson, Tony Montgomery and Coach Buddy Stephens for believing in me and guiding me along the way. I'm ready to get to work and continue pushing EMCC athletics to new heights."

Beginning with his initial role as a graduate assistant football coach during the 2012 season, Wilkerson's coaching and administrative skills were displayed during his various stints within EMCC's football program. His primary responsibilities for the past decade with the Lions included coordinating the program's recruiting efforts as well as assisting with the team's offensive game plan and special teams play. In addition to his most recent coaching duties as EMCC's offensive coordinator, Wilkerson was also responsible for the Lions' overall football operations.

Between his first two EMCC coaching stints, Wilkerson gained valuable prep experience as quarterbacks coach at Horn Lake (Miss.) High School during the 2013 football season.

Four years later in 2017, Wilkerson briefly left the state of Mississippi to gain additional experience as a graduate assistant within the University of Oklahoma athletics department. While completing his master's degree in adult and higher education with an emphasis in intercollegiate athletics administration, he assisted in the area of conduct and accountability for OU's student-athletes.

Wilkerson, a Booneville native, attended Northeast Mississippi Community College on a tennis scholarship. He served on the Tigers' football staff and had the unique distinction of assisting his father, David Wilkerson, who was the Tigers' offensive coordinator at the time. During the 2007 and 2008 seasons, Wilkerson aided his father by serving as Northeast's running backs coaching assistant as well as the football program's video coordinator.

Wilkerson first gained valuable football knowledge and coaching experience during his prep playing days under the guidance of Hall of Fame coaching legend Jim Drewry at Booneville High School. Selected as a team captain for the Blue Devils, Wilkerson capped his playing career by collecting all-region and all-division honors as a senior.

A 2011 Ole Miss graduate with a degree in exercise science, Wilkerson is married to the former Amanda Hutcheson of Loganville, Georgia, a four-year softball letter winner and Taylor Medal recipient at Ole Miss, who is currently an Associate Professor of Public Health at the University of Alabama. They are the proud parents of a daughter, Crosby, 2.