Athletic Director Has An Open-Door Policy

The door to Muskego Athletic Director Scott Kugi's office is hardly ever closed, which is a remarkable thing to say for someone who has so much responsibility on their plate.

In addition to coordinating everything that is involved with the nearly 90 different athletic teams at , Kugi also serves as the District Activities Coordinator. With that title comes overseeing not only all the middle and high school athletics in the district, but also their co-curricular clubs as well – all 54 of them.

But by no means does that mean the Milwaukee native doesn't like his job. 

"I love (my job)," Kugi said. "I've been in athletics all my life. I started coaching when I was 18 years old at Whitnall (High School) so I've been doing it awhile."

Kugi was born in Milwaukee and moved to Greendale when he was still a young boy. After college, he started out as a physical education teacher and athletic director at St. Catherine's at 51st and Center Streets.

After a few years there, Kugi went back to college to get his master's degree at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. After graduating and serving a few years as the baseball coach and an assistant football coach, Kugi returned home to take over the baseball program at UW-Milwaukee.

While the transition for UWM to become a Division I program was challenging enough, the transition for Kugi was even harder with the arrival of his first daughter.

"We'd leave on a road trip on a Friday morning and not come back until Sunday, so I don't see the baby Friday, Saturday and Sunday and then I was on the phone recruiting all the time," Kugi said. "That was no way for me to raise a family."

"(To come to Muskego) was kind of a natural transition for me after coaching for 18 or 19 years."

Since his time with the Warriors, Kugi has increased the number of teams that represent the high school and participation in those sports. He also helped find coaches to lead those students to an impressive number of conference and state championships.

While that's likely how most people view an athletic director's success, that's not what Kugi is most proud of with his time at Muskego.

"I think about it and all those things are great, measurable success markers, but I think the thing I'm most proud of is just the relationships," Kugi said. "We've got 162 coaches and advisers that work in our department. This is a relationship business, and there is none more important than the relationships that our staff has with the kids. I think that's what I'm most proud of.

"Win, lose or draw, we want people to view Muskego as a classy operation. For us, there's just bigger values than winning championships."