Ozark district hires Strafford leader for retooled athletic director position

provided by Ozark School District

Ashley Bough starts July 1 in her new role at the Ozark School District.

The Ozark School District Board of Education recently voted to hire Ashley Bough as director of athletics and activities.

The position, heavily focused on high school in the past, was restructured in late 2025 to oversee athletics and related activities across the district. Bough will report to the superintendent instead of the high school principal. The job will start July 1.

Bough will succeed Yancey Little, who is retiring after 25 years of service as a coach and administrator.

“As an educator, coach and parent, I deeply value the role athletics and activities play in developing character, leadership and a strong sense of community,” Bough said in a news release.

Bough was a coach and physical education teacher in the Lebanon R-III School District, from 2007 to 2011, before joining the Strafford R-VI School District.

In Strafford, she has been the elementary principal since 2022. She previously served as assistant principal and spent 13 years as the varsity volleyball coach, leading the Lady Indians to a Missouri state runner-up finish four times, including back-to-back trips in 2021 and 2022.

“Ozark’s strong tradition of involvement and support is evident,” Bough said in the release. “I’m eager to build on that momentum by working alongside students, coaches, sponsors and families to create well-rounded, dynamic programs that challenge, connect and empower students – on the field, on the stage and throughout our community.”

Ozark Superintendent Lori Wilson noted Bough’s experience serving students, on and off the field.

“Ashley Bough has proven herself as a respected educator, coach and administrator in southwest Missouri with a passion for serving young adults,” Wilson said in the release. “We are thrilled to have her and her family as Ozark Tigers and see her vision for our athletics and activities."

The district has not finalized the salary, but the range for a director with a doctorate, which Bough has, is $108,061 to $154,605, officials say.

Little coached multiple sports at Ozark High School including softball and girls basketball. His softball teams earned Final Four and state runner-up finishes, and his girls basketball teams captured back-to-back state championships in 2005 and 2006.

He was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.