Richard Mathis serves PRCC as Athletic Director
POPLARVILLE - Pearl River Community College men’s basketball coach Richard Mathis
enters his fifth year as athletic director.
Mathis, 61, continues as men’s hoops coach at PRCC, eyeing his 18th year with the Wildcats.
He has won four MACJC state titles at The River, including back-to-back championships in
2002-03 and 2003-04.
"All I want is to help everybody in our athletic department to succeed," said Mathis. "If they have
a problem, I want to help if I can."
Mathis’ duties include such things as game preparations, coordinating much of the travel,
overseeing budgets and making sure coaches are up to date on current rules and eligibility issues.
In 35 seasons as a basketball coach, Mathis has a 536-240 overall record. A graduate of the
University of Southern Mississippi, he coached at Mississippi State, Jacksonville State, Northeast
Mississippi Community College, and at East Mississippi Community College before arriving at
PRCC.
Mathis has won a total of six MACJC state championships, including a women’s state and
Region 23 title at East Mississippi and a men’s title at Northeast. As an administrator, he was high
school principal at Clarkdale Attendance Center and Dean of Student Services at East
Mississippi.
"The athletic program here at Pearl River is one of the top in the state, winning four state
championships last year," said Mathis. "All I want to do is help everybody succeed. I don’t want
to tell them how to run their programs, but if they have a problem, just give me a chance to help
them."
A Meridian native, Mathis graduated from Southeast Lauderdale in 1965 where he was a
standout athlete and was signed by former Southern Miss coach Lee Floyd. He played for the
USM freshman team the 1965-66 season before transferring to East Mississippi in 1966-67.
He transferred back to USM for the 1967-68 season, but injured his knee and served as an
assistant on freshman coach Jeep Clark’s team.
Coach Mathis and his wife Barbara, a PRCC instructor to whom he has been married for 35
years, have three children: Laticia, Hollie and John.