Hutchinson CC

Josh Gooch became the Blue Dragon Athletic Department’s fifth Director of Athletics on July 1, 2015.

This is Gooch’s third different tenure with the Blue Dragons. The other two came as a member of the HutchCC football coaching staff. Gooch was the offensive coordinator from 2007 to 2011 and again in 2013.

Gooch left Hutchinson the first time to become the head football coach at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, Iowa. After his return in 2013, Gooch left athletes for a season to work as a pharmaceutical sales representative for Actavis Pharmaceuticals.

To say his first eight seasons as athletic director at Hutchinson have been busy would be an understatement.

On the field of competition, Blue Dragon teams have won 19 Jayhawk Conference championships, nine Region VI titles, had 50 teams compete in national competition with national championships in men’s basketball (2017), men’s golf (2021 and 2022) and football (2020-21) and a national team runner-up in men’s basketball (2016).

Gooch has also overseen the renovation of the Hutchinson Sports Arena, a project that began midway through his first season on the job in 2016. Between that, new fundraising initiatives, all the other day-to-day business items and navigating the Blue Dragon athletic department through the Coronavirus pandemic in Spring 2020, Gooch’s first eight seasons at Hutch have been challenging, but successful.

Gooch has a long history with the Jayhawk Conference. In addition to his time at Hutchinson Community College, Gooch has also been part of successful football programs in the conference at Coffeyville and Fort Scott.

Gooch was also an Assistant to the Athletic Director at Fort Hays State for three years.

Gooch is a native of Wellington, Kansas. He was a standout football player and wrestler at Wellington High School. He played linebacker at Coffeyville Community College and then at Fort Hays State University. Gooch was also a two-time wrestling All-American at Fort Hays State, placing seventh in 1995 and third in 1996 at the NCAA Division II wrestling championships.

Gooch has a bachelor's degree in communications and a master's degree in sports administration from Fort Hays State

Gooch is married to the former Kandy Ubben of Phillipsburg, Kansas. The couple has two children, Aubrey (A.J.) and Avery.

ON THE BLUE DRAGON SIDELINE
While the Blue Dragons’ offensive coordinator, Gooch’s offenses were among the best in Blue Dragon football history.

The 2013 Blue Dragons averaged 35.7 point per game in an 8-4 season, Salt City Bowl-winning season. Hutch averaged 35.7 points, 153.3 rushing yards, 219.3 passing yards and 372.5 passing yards per game.

The 2011 Blue Dragons led the Jayhawk Conference in scoring offense (48.3 points per game), total offense (448.3 yards per game), and rushing offense (237.7 yards per game) and was No. 3 in passing offense (210.5 yards per game). Receiver Cordarrelle Patterson was the 2011 Jayhawk Conference Offensive Player of the Year and a first-team NJCAA All-American.

Gooch’s offense put up some big numbers in helping the 2010 Blue Dragons go 10-2, win the Salt City Bowl for the second-straight year and finish fifth in the final NJCAA national poll.

The 2010 Blue Dragons set a team record for most points scored in a season (422) and was second in scoring average (35.2 points per game). Hutch had the second-ranked scoring, rushing and total offense in the Jayhawk Conference. Led by a strong front line, a stable of solid running backs, a duel-threat quarterback and the playmaking ability of second-team All-America receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, the Blue Dragons notched nine all-conference selections. The 2010 Blue Dragons scored 40 or more points seven times.

The 2009 Blue Dragons set a team record for scoring average, scoring at a 35.5 point-per-game clip, and the fourth-most points in program history (390). The 2009 Blue Dragons offense scored the most points in a three-game stretch (167) than any three-game stretch in team history and scored 50 or more points in four games, again the most in team history.

Chris Clay (1,106 yards) and Chris Anderson (1,040 yards) became the first running back tandem in Blue Dragon history to have 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Four of the five members of the offensive line earned All-Jayhawk Conference honors. The 2009 Blue Dragons went 7-4 and won the inaugural Salt City Bowl.

The 2008 season turned out to be a special one for Gooch and the Blue Dragons. HutchCC finished 7-4, tied for third in the Jayhawk Conference and advanced to the Region VI championship game for the first time since 1995.

The offense made major strides in 2008, becoming the top rushing team in the Jayhawk Conference and the eighth-best running team in the NJCAA (208.8 yards per game).

Running back LaDarrian Page was the Jayhawk Conference Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 1,340 yards, which led the Jayhawk Conference and was third in the NJCAA. Page turned in the fourth-best single-season rushing performance in Blue Dragon history.

Four of the five members of the offensive line earned postseason honors, including tackle Jamar Bass (first team), guards Jacob Miller and Mike Powell (second team) and center Chase Hartman (honorable mention).

Mere numbers didn’t tell the entire story of the 2007 Blue Dragon offense. By the end of the season, injuries had depleted the Dragon receiving corps, going into the final game of the season without an out-of-state receiver. Still Gooch managed a game plan with his back-up quarterback and adjusted personnel to pull off a 13-9 season-ending victory at Independence.

Receiver Danny McEvoy tied for the fourth-best receiving season in Blue Dragon history with 45 receptions for 517 yards. He also saw quarterback Chris Todd sign with Auburn, becoming the first Blue Dragon quarterback to sign with a BCS school since Shaun Hill signed with Maryland in 2001.

BEFORE HUTCHINSON
Gooch came to Hutchinson after a one-year stint with at Fort Scott Community College. He led the Greyhound offense and helped the program turn around a 24-game losing streak into a 7-5 season that culminated in a berth in the 2006 Region VI Championship game and an appearance in the 2006 Heart of Texas Bowl.

Fort Scott’s offense made dramatic improvement in one season under Gooch. The 2006 Greyhounds averaged 19.4 point per game, an improvement of 8.6 points per game. In total offense, Fort Scott averaged 276.4 points, an improvement of 78 yards per game and rushed for 156.6 yards per game, an improvement of 91 yards per game. The Greyhounds' rushing offense ranked third in the Jayhawk Conference and Jovani Franklin was the league's top rusher after averaging 105.3 yards per game. Gooch's Greyhound offense had one all-league first-team selection, three on the second team and one on honorable mention.

In 2005, Gooch was the secondary coach at Coffeyville Community College.

Gooch began his coaching career at his alma mater, Fort Hays State University in 1998 as a graduate assistant, working with the offensive line and tight ends.

In 1999, Gooch went to Ellsworth Community College in Ellsworth, Iowa for one season and served as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach.

After Ellsworth, Gooch had the opportunity to work at the Division I-A level for two seasons at the University of Wyoming. While in Laramie, Gooch worked with the defensive secondary and the defensive line.

Gooch returned to Fort Hays State in 2002 to be the Tigers' co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. In three seasons at Fort Hays State, Gooch had six offensive linemen and two tight ends earn All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference honors. In 2003, Gooch coached a first-team AFCA All-America offensive lineman and had one tight end, Kelly Griffeth, sign with the San Diego Chargers. Fort Hays State was a dominant rushing team in the RMAC, boasting the league's top rushing offense and Top 12 national ranking in each of those years.