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The search for a new football coach at Ulysses High School is over.
The USD Board of Trustees approved a contract for Mitch Foote to be the next leader of the Tigers at a special board meeting Jan. 30. Foote comes to Ulysses from Osage City, which is 36 miles south of Topeka, where he was an assistant football coach for an Indians team that won the Flint Hills Conference and went 10-1 last season before falling 33-27 to Nemaha Central in the playoffs.
Foote was also the head baseball coach for Osage City, compiling a 21-4 record in 2024 and 16-3 record in 2023. Foote also coached basketball at Burlingame.
“Really excited, guys,” Activities Director Travis McAtee told the trustees. “Been working a lot with Mitch here lately just getting kind of a list worked up with potential staff members, and him talking to them. All that’s been going really good. I think they’ve all been excited about what they’ve heard from him.”
In a Jan. 23 Facebook post announcing his departure, Foote thanked the Osage City and Burlingame school districts and communities.
“These last years have been extremely amazing as I have worked alongside some great coaches and colleagues at both USD 420 and USD 454,” Foote posted. “Thank you to all the players who have allowed me to coach them and hopefully made an impact on their life, because you certainly have on mine. I never realized how attached I would become to a town I had no prior knowledge of and how grateful I would be to have such great community support. I will always be thankful and cherish every moment from my time here.”
Foote also posted that being a head football coach is his dream.
“This has been something I have long dreamt of and remained patient for, now thrilled to see it come to life,” he posted. “This decision was not an easy one, but I feel it is time for me to begin my own journey down a new path. I am beyond blessed and thankful to be given this opportunity by USD 214 to lead the next group of young men this upcoming season.”
Coaching multiple sports is what attracted USD 214 to Foote.
“He, to me, was a couple criteria that I was looking for, he checked those boxes, big time,” McAtee said. “He’s a single guy, and his words to me was ‘I don’t know what I’d do if I wasn’t coaching,’ so he is totally on board with being a 3-sport coach. I assured him there will be a place for him all three seasons.”
Foote released a statement that was shared by the school via Facebook.
“Tiger Nation, I am excited that I am joining the USD 214 family as your newest head football coach, Foote said. “During my time as an assistant and head coach, I’ve learned that every player is special; you just have to take the time to get to know them.”
He thanked USD 420 and USD 454 and the communities of Osage City and Burlingame, where he was previously a coach.
“I can’t wait to see where this new chapter of my career in Ulysses will take me and the people I meet along the way,” he added.
Foote will also be a Special Education teacher while completing his Master’s degree. Board president Diana Nunez said she has spoken to High Plains Education Cooperative and said they are excited to have him on board and were very impressed with him.
A native of Enid, Okla., Foote played college football at Emporia State University, earning a Bachelor of Science Recreation, and is pursuing a Master’s in High Incidence Disabilities from Fort Hays State University. His senior year at Emporia State (2016), Foote caught 75 passes for 1,016 yards and 12 touchdowns; he was first team All MIAA twice at Emporia State. In High School, he was a first-team All-State selection (2011) and was Enid’s all-time leader with 102 receptions for 1,552 yards and 19 touchdowns in his career.
McAtee said Foote plans to travel to Ulysses in March for a day or so to see the school, meet some of his coaching staff, and visit with different groups of the players here.
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