Ritchey succeeds his older brother, Mike, who resigned after one season as AD/football coach to resume full-time duties as high school principal.

Phillip Ritchey 

The younger Ritchey was selected over four other candidates for the job, BSISD Superintendent Michael Downes said.

“Phillip brings great experience to the job, as well as a demonstrated ability to work well with students and parents,” Downes said.

Ritchey, who begins his new duties immediately, was an assistant coach and offensive coordinator under his brother during the 2007 football season, which saw the Steers compile a 3-8 record.

He has held several positions during his 22-year coaching career, including eight years at Coahoma High School and a stint as AD/football coach in Coleman. In addition, he was offensive coordinator for the Boyd High School football team that won the state Class 2A title in 2004.

Among the people Ritchey consulted before applying for the position was his brother.

“The more I talked to him, the more excited I got about the job,” Phillip said. “I've been coaching all my life, but I'm striving to continue what he started here.”

One of the first things he promised is that there will be no changes in offensive or defensive schemes this coming football season.

“That was one of the big things — we didn't want to put the kids through a big philosophical change,” he said. “Continuity is one of the things we're striving for.”

In fact, the coaching style won't change much, either, Ritchey promised.

“I think that the major adapting that has had to be done has already taken place,” he said. “The kids know that our goals and expectations are the same as they were under Mike.”

Of course, Ritchey will be responsible for all the BSISD athletic programs, a responsibility he said he relishes.

“I'm going to do everything in my power to help the head coaches in the other sports build successful programs,” he said. “Our goal is for Big Spring ISD to be successful in every sport. We're going to hold the kids to high expectations, and we want people to be proud of our kids and our programs here.”

Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331 ext. 234 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it