Adam McDonnell will return as athletics director at Cedar Rapids Xavier

CEDAR RAPIDS — It’s not merely “welcome.”

It’s “welcome back.”

Xavier High School has announced that Adam McDonnell will return as athletics director, effective July 1.

“I am incredibly honored and excited to return,” McDonnell said Tuesday in a release by the school. “This school holds a special place in my heart, and I’m truly humbled by the opportunity to once again serve and lead in a community that I care so deeply about.”

McDonnell served as Xavier AD from 2019 through 2022, then left to take the activities director job at Ankeny High School. He currently serves as the district activities director for the Cedar Rapids Community School District.

He will success outgoing AD Matt Svare, who has been appointed as high school principal at West Delaware.

“We are thrilled to welcome Adam back to Xavier,” principal Lynn Holverson said. “His proven leadership, innovative thinking, and deep understanding of the Xavier mission make him the ideal person to lead our activities program into the future.”

A pivotal role, for McDonnell and/or Svare, is to hire Tom Lilly’s successor as girls’ basketball coach. The head volleyball position also is vacant.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com