Inductees

She grew up hoping to become a physical education teacher and coach and, not only did she chase her dream, but found her calling with junior high school student-athletes.

You might say that Marian House was a perfect fit.

“I was so fortunate to have had my varsity volleyball coach and mentor, Mrs. Ann Gulshen (MSHOF 2018), be my junior high physical education teacher,” House said of one of Eldon High School’s most successful coaches. “My junior high years were a very stressful time in my life, and she taught me how to work hard and push myself to be the best that I could be. I wanted to be able to give back to that junior high athlete the same support and belief that they could accomplish anything that they put their mind to.”

House did just that in a 31-year teaching and coaching career – mostly in the Nixa school district – and that’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted her with the Class of 2025.

House worked 24 years for the Nixa school district, retiring in 2023 as the assistant director of activities and athletics. She served 20 years in the activities director position, and was a physical education and health teacher, assistant principal, and also coached volleyball and track & field.

Along the way, House was instrumental in the development and implementation of additional programs and teams at the junior high level and worked with the then-Central Ozark Conference to expand their offerings to include Nixa teams.

House also led the effort to implement Nixa Youth Football and the Nixa Youth Sports Program. While previous youth sports programs had been in place, her leadership led to the program gaining a foothold in the district and expanded from football to other sports, including basketball, baseball and wrestling.

She also coached the junior high COC championship volleyball teams in 2000 and 2004 and the junior high COC championship girls track team.

All this from a former Eldon High School Mustang. House graduated in 1987 as a three-sport athlete – she was All-State in volleyball and basketball and ran track – before playing volleyball at Missouri Southern State University and graduating in 1991.

House then started her career with seven years in Ava, coaching varsity volleyball, JV girls basketball and varsity girls track.

Nixa came calling ahead of the fall semester of 1999, and, by 2003, asked her to be assistant director of activities and athletics.

“Nixa Public Schools was growing in population and, with that, the need to grow our athletic and activities department expanded as well,” House said. “(Athletic Director) Dr. Brandon Clark and I brainstormed how we could both make a larger impact to meet Nixa Schools’ growing demand and came up with the idea of me assisting him, allowing him to be more of a ‘visionary leader’ and I could be the ‘boots on the ground’ to help support the district needs.”

The led to the addition of the Nixa Youth Sports Program, in which the district took control as a way to create a uniform strategy passed down from varsity head coaches. It was modeled after Webb City.

House was responsible for the hiring and firing of all junior high school and youth coaches and directors for 14 teams and five activities, after consulting with varsity coaches. Overall, she oversaw 300-plus junior high school athletes and another 275-plus in the youth program.

In 2022, she was named the Missouri Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA) Outstanding Middle School Athletic Director of the Year.

Fortunately, she had climbed the ladder the right way, learning as a coach about what an athletic director should be.

“I learned the importance of having an open line of communication with all of the coaches/directors,” House said. “I wanted to be in the know if they had any concerns arise and to be able to take as much supervision responsibility off their plate as possible – so that they could just put their focus on their athletes and coaching their team.”

House counts as mentors Gulshen, former Nixa Superintendent Dr. Stephen Kleinsmith and Clark.

Even better, her faith in Jesus Christ paved the way to success, and she always had the support of her husband, Mark, and their sons, Cameron and Brady.

“It was very rewarding,” House said of her career. “My hope and dreams are that I made a positive difference in my families’ lives that I served. When you surround yourself with outstanding people, the sky is the limit for your success.”