Kent Farris took over as Northeast Mississippi Community College’s athletic director during the 2015 fall semester. 

His responsibilities include overseeing the day-to-day operations of an athletic department that features nine sports that are sanctioned by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) after the start of volleyball in the fall of 2023. 

He is the eighth listed athletic director and is the latest in a legendary lineage of gentlemen to serve in this capacity, including NJCAA Hall of Famers Bonner Arnold, Ricky Ford and W.B. “Bill” Ward. 

The 2022-23 academic year was full of success, as is the norm at Northeast, with four sports that reached the postseason. Golf led the way by making its first-ever appearance as an entire team at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Tournament. 

In addition, the baseball program won a best-of-three playoff series at The Plex against Jones College to advance to the double elimination portion of the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament for the first time in over a decade.

Northeast also broke school records for the most Academic All-MACCC (68) and NJCAA All-Academic (39) recipients last year. Six programs – baseball, golf, men’s tennis, softball, women’s basketball and women’s tennis – were recognized as NJCAA All-Academic teams. 

The Corinth native cemented his legacy at Northeast as one of the greatest coaches in the history of its baseball program. Farris left the Tigers as their second winningest headman with 212 victories in nine campaigns at the helm. 

The Tigers were placed among the country's elite units by the NJCAA on more than one instance under Farris, including a No. 19 ranking during the poll period from March 11-24, 2014. 

His squads qualified for the playoffs six times since he joined the Tigers prior to the 2007 campaign. Farris brought postseason action back to the City of Hospitality when Northeast finished as the division runner-up in 2009 with a 33-14 mark and welcomed Jones for a best-of-three series. 

Farris guided the Tigers to their first division championship since 1992 four years later. Northeast edged rival Northwest Mississippi Community College for the title and later took its opening round playoff meeting with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. 

The Tigers continued to rewrite their record books in 2014 when they received the privilege of hosting the double elimination Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) Tournament for the first time under its format at that time. 

Around 1,250 fans packed the bleachers at Harold T. White Field for seven games over a three-day period. Farris' ballclub faced eventual state champion Jones and East Central Community College before ending the campaign with a 27-20 mark. 

A total of 59 athletes that starred under the watch of Farris committed to play at four-year universities at the NCAA Division I, II, III and NAIA levels. He also instructed Northeast Sports Hall of Famers Brandon Farley and Chase Porch. 

Three men that started for Farris at Northeast reached the professional ranks. Phillip Chapman signed with the Minnesota Twins, Farley was drafted in the 33rd round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft by San Francisco and Porch inked with three separate organizations in the independent American Association. 

He also made sure his student-athletes focused on their studies in the classroom. The Tigers were selected as a NJCAA All-Academic Team for two straight seasons while eight players captured individual scholastic awards as well. 

Farris replaced another Northeast Sports Hall of Famer in Ray Scott when he accepted the position at Northeast from Columbus, where he spent the two seasons as head coach. 

The Falcons recorded an 18-11 mark in 2006 and hosted a first round playoff series for the inaugural time after claiming the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Division 2, Class 5A championship. 

During his tenure with the Falcons, five players signed college scholarships and two athletes participated in the Crossroads Diamond Club All-Star Game in Jackson. Farris was named The Commercial Dispatch Coach of the Year in 2006. 

Farris was the headman at Caledonia High School for three seasons and an assistant at New Hope High School from 1996-2002. He was part of two state championship teams with the Trojans and one of three Mississippi prep squads all-time to end a season without a loss when his unit went 43-0 in 1996. 

His most extensive head coaching experience on the prep stage came at Alcorn Central High School, where he was its commander from 1984-95. Farris compiled a 265-162-7 ledger while with the Golden Bears. 

Farris’ Alcorn Central teams qualified for the playoffs on four occasions. He was tabbed as the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal Coach of the Year in 1988 after guiding the Golden Bears to the MHSAA Class 3A state title. 

He started his career as an assistant at the University of North Alabama from 1983-84 and helped lead the Lions to the Gulf South Conference (GSC) title for the first time in its history in 1984. That club also concluded the NCAA Division II South Central Region as the runner-up and featured five men that inked pro deals. 

Farris has been a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), the Crossroads Diamond Club, the Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC), the Mississippi Association of Professional Educators and was a co-founder of the Northeast Mississippi Coaches Association for Better Baseball (NEMCABB). 

He was chosen to coach in the Crossroads Diamond Club All-Star Game in 1989 and the NEMCABB All-Star Game at Corinth's Jesse Bynum Field twice in 1992 and 2002. He assisted Team Mississippi in the Junior Sunbelt Classic from 1979-99 and in 2001. 

Farris earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from North Alabama. He has one son, Keaton, and is happily married to his wife, Joye, who is the administrative assistant to the vice president of student services at Northeast.