'Positive' Kozikowski named NHIAA Division I Athletic Director of the Year

PORTSMOUTH — Portsmouth High School athletic director Tom Kozikowski received the Young Professional Award a few years ago, which he called "a shock."

The news that Kozikowski received on Monday was similar, but this time, Kozikowski said it was "extremely humbling."

On Monday, Kozikowski was named the Division I Athletic Director of the Year which was presented to him at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord.

"It was really super humbling," Kozikowski said. "Your peers vote on this, and they believe in you enough to say 'You know what, you did a good job this year,' so it's a great honor and recognition."

There are approximately 22-24 Division I schools.

Kozikowski is in his third year as the athletic director, but prior to that, he was the assistant athletic director since 2006. He always has a smile on his face, which is one of the many reasons he is loved, appreciated and supported in Clipper Country.

Kozikowski was already doing a lot of work in the athletic department before officially being the AD.

"Many of the functions that I have been doing for the last 17 years, I may not have had the title of athletic director, but I was doing a lot of the things with Rus Wilson," he said.

Wilson served as Portsmouth's athletic director for 15 years before his death in August 2020. Kozikowski took over on an interim basis before getting the official title.

Prior, Kozikowski was working half-time with the recreational department and half time for the school, but when Wilson passed away in 2020, Kozikowski took on a larger role.

"(Kozikowski) had to take on more of a administrative role as far as dealing more with students, parents and just the whole school administration," Kozikowski's assistant Karen Conway said.

Portsmouth boys basketball coach John Mulvey said he was excited when he heard the news of Kozikowski's award.

"Just very happy for (Kozikowski), and also it's well deserved because he works really hard," Mulvey said. "He gives his all, and everything that he does is for us, the players, the student-athletes, and the teams. I'm really appreciative of everything that he does for us, and it's cool to see him recognized by everybody else."

Portsmouth football coach Brian Pafford said Kozikowski "works his tail off" and deserves to be recognized.

"He's here 7:30 in the morning until 9 at night," Pafford said. "He makes sure that we have everything that we need, no questions asked. He lets coaches coach and do what they need to do and he supports us in every aspect of what we need."

If you ask Conway, the award honoring Kozikowski is "most deserving."

"(Kozikowski) has worked very, very hard these past couple of years," Conway said.

Kozikowski had high praise for Conway, and said the plaque should include her name as well.

"He would do that, we're a good team," Conway said as she laughed.

"She's a very amazing person," Kozikowski said of Conway. "I grew up, my mom was the secretary in the schools and my dad was a custodian in the schools, and later on worked in the maintenance department, so I have a deep respect for the amount of work both of those jobs do."

Koz keeps a smile

Of the many great qualities that Kozikowski possesses, Conway said one of the greatest is that Kozikowski is always smiling, laughing and just full of good energy no matter the day of the week.

"He always makes me laugh and he's so positive all the time," Conway explained. "The kids love him, all the athletes. He's just a positive guy."

Conway said there isn't a specific moment that she can recall, but she did say that they rarely have bad days at Portsmouth.

"Because he's always so positive, he'll make you laugh no matter what," Conway added. "He's always got a story, we could be talking about something and he would always say 'Well, let me tell you about this', and it's always a funny story, something that is relatable to everybody."

Mulvey said you instantly perk up and smile whenever you see Kozikowski.

"He brings a lot of energy, whether you're having a good day or bad day, no matter what, when you see him, he brings a smile to your face," Mulvey said. "The kids love seeing him, he's always making everybody laugh and he's just a great person to be around."

Kozikowski said every year is a new year with new challenges, but it's a "very special position to be in."

"We're able to see kids come in as 14-year old freshman, and graduate as 18-year old mature young adults that you become proud of, they're kind of your own," he said. "You look out for them for the four years and beyond, and then it's so rewarding to have those kids come back and now they're in their 30s and they remember the things we did at school when they were here. To me, that's worth everything."

Supporting Clipper athletics

Kozikowski is one who is often spotted at sports events, as Conway said the supportive athletic director doesn't pick and choose one over the other.

"He treats every athlete the same, he doesn't have a favorite sport," Conway explained. "He doesn't have a favorite coach, and they're all treated right from the freshman level right to the varsity level. I can't say that enough because he's always making sure everybody is treated equally. Girls, boys, freshman team right up to the varsity teams."

There are more than 600 student-athletes who participate each year Kozikowski said.

"I've always said that we're blessed with so many great coaches at Portsmouth," Kozikowski said. "They are dedicated, care about people, care about kids and that's the way we want to represent the state and athletics".

Mulvey said that Kozikowski loves Portsmouth athletics.

"He's always got some sort of Clipper Pride going whether it's something that he's wearing or talking about it, he loves his job, the sports and he loves Portsmouth. He's just a great example of what Clipper Pride is, and a great example for us coaches and kids to look up to and to follow".

Kozikowski has worked in Portsmouth, in the recreation department since 1992 and said he's very lucky to be in the position he's in.

"I know how lucky I am to be working in this community with these people who love sports and they love competition and they feed off of it," he said. "It's contagious and it gives you an energy. There's no place in the world I'd rather be than here, it's great."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth High School's Tom Kozikowski is NHIAA Division I AD of the Year