Joe Guthrie has been hired as the head coach of the women's softball team that is being formed at Northeast Alabama Community College (NACC), Dr. David Campbell, President of the college announced. 

"Mr. Guthrie is a very experienced coach with an outstanding winning percentage who develops his players both professionally and personally," Campbell stated.  "That is exactly what we want to work with the women who will make up our team."

Guthrie comes to Northeast with an impressive coaching resume with nearly 20 years of experience. Most recently, he coached as an Assistant at Texas A&M University.  Before that, he served as the Head Coach at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.  He also was Head Coach at Marion Military Institute, which is a fellow member of the Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) and the National Junior College Athletic Associate (NJCAA) in which Northeast will play.

Northeast is building a state-of the-art women's softball stadium on campus, and the groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for August 8, 2023. The stadium will be lighted, the grandstands covered by a roof, and artificial turf will cover the infield and outfield. Locker rooms and a training facility will also be included. McKee and Associates of Montgomery are the architects for the project and Sports Turf of Georgia is the construction company building the stadium. 

"We plan for the stadium to be completed by the Fall Semester of 2024," stated Mrs. Barbara Kilgore, Athletic Director at Northeast. "Coach Guthrie will be recruiting players, assisting with the stadium development, planning for camps, and preparing for team competition beginning in the Fall 2024 season."

"I am humbled and honored to become the first Head Softball Coach at Northeast Alabama Community College," said Guthrie. "I want to thank Dr. David Campbell, Barbara Kilgore, and Chad Gorham for their exhaustive efforts to get the position and program going. It is our goal to make the softball program a national champion in one of the best softball areas in the country. I believe we have all the ingredients to make that goal a reality.  We have some extremely special events coming soon. Please check out the groundbreaking for our facility next month. I can't wait to begin working!"

Northeast's Dean of Instruction, Chad Gorham, has assisted in establishing the softball team. "Bringing softball to NACC has been a long time in the making," said Gorham. "I can remember the exact conversation I had with Dr. Campbell about the possibility of starting a softball program. I was excited about the possibility then and am crawling with anxious excitement now!"

Gorham is eager to see the Mustangs compete under Guthrie's leadership. "Coach Guthrie is first and foremost a teacher who has academically advised his players. This is very important to us," said Gorham. "We don't want "just" a softball team at NACC- we want to have the best team in the ACCC and compete for NJCAA championships. I think Coach Guthrie is just the person to get us there."

Campbell thanked the college's legislative delegation Alabama State Senator Steve Livingston, Representative Mike Kirkland, and Speaker of the House Representative Nathaniel Ledbetter for financial support to the college on the softball stadium project.  "Speaker Ledbetter especially has been a leader in this," Campbell said.

Campbell concluded, saying, "Establishing a team is a step-by-step process. We have taken a huge step in this process by hiring a coach of Mr. Guthrie's ability and character."

An Alabama native, Guthrie graduated from Bevill State Community College where he played baseball for the Bears during the 1999-2000 season. Coach Guthrie earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Alabama and his master's degree from Jacksonville State University. He is also a veteran and served in the United States Army where he was assigned to a one-year combat tour in Iraq and earned many awards. Guthrie is married to the former Courtnay Foster, former Northwestern All-American softball pitcher and 2006 Women's College World Series participant. He has two children.