Bio

Mills embarks on his fifth full year at Northeast and third overall as athletic director, while the Hawks' rising success has reached new heights entering the 2023-24 academic year.

Last season, Mills oversaw the third-straight trip of the women's soccer team to the national tournament and the first-ever trip for the men's soccer program. The women's soccer program set the school record for wins in a season and won the region and district championships. The men's soccer program saw similar success as first-year head coach Adam Potter took the Hawks to the national tournament for the first time in school history. The men's team also won the district championship and its first ever game at the national tournament. The Northeast baseball team went on to tie the school record for wins with 39 and Santiago Valdes of the men's golf team won the North Central District Championship to qualify for the national tournament. Seven student-athletes were named All-American and more than 70 percent received academic all-region honors in both semesters. Both the Hawks Boosters and corporate sponsorships more than doubled throughout the year.

During Mills' first full year at the helm of the athletic department, 92 student-athletes were named Academic All-Region during the spring semester and 94 earned the same honor during the fall semester. The men's golf team won the Nebraska Intercollegiate for the first time in school history and qualified as a team for the 2022 NJCAA DII Men's Golf Championship. The women's soccer team made a return trip the national tournament after winning the region and district championships. On the diamond, the baseball team broke the school record for most wins in a season with 39. Additionally, each team was named an NJCAA All-Academic Team of the Year.

Mills was named athletic director at Northeast in May 2021. He previously served as the Interim Athletic Director and as the Associate Athletic Director for three years at Northeast Community College. Mills assists in all aspects of day-to-day operations of the athletic department, including all sports information responsibilities and game management duties, serving as the primary administrator of the Northeast social media accounts and the webmaster for the athletic website. In addition, he was responsible for creating game-day programs, promotional items, fundraising and the ongoing technological evolution of media relations of the department.

During the 2019-2020 school year, Mills led the publicity efforts of the Northeast volleyball team's return trip to the NJCAA DII National Tournament in Charleston, West Virginia. He also helped with the revamped effort of the Hawks Boosters campaign. 

In his first year at Northeast, he helped kick-off the new athletic website, www.northeasthawks.com while enhancing the marketing efforts for the department. Under Mills' guidance, the department was awarded their first CoSIDA publications award, finishing in the top-10 in the fall/winter/spring posters category. In the past year, he has raised the social media presence by more than 50 percent, while covering the Northeast volleyball national tournament trip and the historic run of the Northeast baseball team to the NJCAA DII Baseball National Tournament in Enid, Oklahoma.

In 2019 under Mills' direction, former volleyball standout Kalli Brester became the first CoSIDA Academic All-American in the history of Northeast Athletics. He also helped lead the addition of the Northeast rodeo program.

At Northeast, Mills also serves on various committees, is a Title IX Investigator and the advisor for the Northeast Student-Athlete Council. He is also a firm believer in community relations and the impact it has on the success of student-athletes. He is a proud member of the Norfolk Rotary Club, Big Bang Boom Committee, Norfolk Steel Baseball Board and the Norfolk Parks and Recreation Board. Mills was appointed by Mayor Josh Moenning to serve on the parks and recreation board and currently serves as its president. He is also a graduate of Leadership Norfolk. 

A native of Norfolk, Mills brings a wide-range of experience to the Northeast Athletic Department, previously serving in an admissions role with Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska. At Wayne State, he was responsible for assisting in the recruiting efforts of one of the largest freshman classes at WSC. Prior to Wayne State, Mills was the Sports Information Director at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.D. At Dakota Wesleyan, Mills was in charge of maintaining the athletic department's website, social media accounts, photography, record keeping and statistics for the school's 16 athletic programs. In 2018, Mills earned three top-3 finishes in the annual NAIA-SIDA Publications Contest, with a first, second and third-place finish in the media guide/brochures category. In his first year, he was a finalist for the Great Plains Athletic Conference SID of the Year.

Mills has volunteered for various athletic events, including the 2016 NCAA DI Women's Basketball Regional held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he assisted the Summit League with media operations.

Mills attended Dakota Wesleyan and graduated in 2016 with double majors in journalism and communications and attained his Masters of Arts degree in educational policy and administration.

He resides near Norfolk with his wife Katarina and their daughter.