Kevin Giddens, who worked with several Georgia high school programs as a coach and administrator for over 30 years before joining the GHSA as an associate director in 2018, died unexpectedly on June 19.
At the time of his death, Giddens, 59, was living in Moultrie, Georgia, where he had returned following his retirement from the GHSA in 2023.
“Losing Kevin has just been devastating to me personally and to our office,” said GHSA Executive Director Dr. Robin Hines. “There’s not a better guy in the world, and I can’t say there was anybody as loyal to me as a friend or loyal to me in a professional sense. We got along really well. We shared a lot of the same interests and philosophies on things, and he was just a really good friend. I’m going to miss him terribly.”
During his time at the GHSA, Giddens was responsible for all of the association’s 465 member football programs as the football coordinator.
“People have no idea how hard it is to be the sport administrator for football and how big it is,” Hines said. “Everyone sees the games, the playoffs, and the championships, but nobody understands how much work is required behind the scenes to make it all work. But Kevin did it flawlessly. I can tell you in my time I never had anyone more knowledgeable, more organized, and that had the ability to multi-task and get things done than Kevin, but he was perfect.”
Giddens also introduced bass fishing as a sanctioned sport available to GHSA members schools. He continued to work with the GHSA’s bass fishing program even after retiring from the organization.
“He made Georgia high school football great, and he brought that same approach to his other sports like officiating,” Hines said about Giddens. “And look what he did with bass fishing. He has made it into the biggest high school bass fishing program in the country. The guy could just do anything.”
Giddens was part of the Colquitt County Packers’ three football state championships, first in 1994 as the team’s offensive line coach under former head coach Dr. Jim Hughes and again when the team won back-to-back state titles in 2014 and 2015.
Giddens was the athletic director at Colquitt County from 2013 to 2016. He also served as an assistant principal at Colquitt County in 2001.
Kevin Giddens is survived by his wife, Lynn Giddens; children, Shannon Giddens and Bryce Giddens; grandchildren, Baylor Giddens and Bo Giddens; mother, Catherine Giddens; and siblings, Joan Shipley and Janet Davis.
