Northwestern’s next athletic director will have big shoes to fill, but he already has the approval of the man he replaces.
Michael Horstman was officially approved as Northwestern’s next athletic director on Thursday.
He will succeed longtime AD Dan Armstrong, who is retiring at the end of the school year.
Horstman comes from Heritage Christian School in Indianapolis where he has spent the past eight years. It was named sporting director in 2019 after serving as an AD associate. Horstman also has AD experience at Christel House Academy and Fall Creek Academy.
Horstman comes from a group of about six candidates. High school principal Tim Shoaff said a committee of school staff only interviewed candidates with previous experience.
“His vision stood out to everyone,” Shoaff said.
The principal also noted that Heritage Christian is a similar sized school to Northwestern.
More importantly, Northwestern was looking for a smooth transition.
Armstrong – who was AD for 16 years – said he was confident Horstman could do just that. The North West DA has been around long enough to know who Horstman replaced when he took the job at Heritage Christian. He said it was a similar situation.
“He fulfilled and was seamless in the transition to Heritage Christian,” Armstrong said. “I have no doubt he will do the same here.”
Armstrong’s long tenure is actually what interested Horstman in the job.
“I like that they haven’t had a lot of sporting directors,” he said. “I like that it’s a place where you can come and stay and build and have successful programs. They did very well. »
Horstman admitted the interview process was overwhelming — there were six people on the hiring committee — but as he toured the school, he knew it was a place he wanted to be.
“The family-like atmosphere was evident,” Horstman said. “I walked the halls the very first day, the kids were well behaved, it was like a normal school day…it was a welcome experience. It was great.”
The new AD said he was looking forward to expanding the sports programs. Shoaff added that part of Horstman’s job will be to brand and promote each sport.
Horstman will take up his new role this summer.
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