NEWARK — It's not often when a high school is looking to replace a high-profile position, especially in such a small community like Newark, that it can find a guy like Robin Renner wanting to step up and fill the void.

Renner — a recently retired teacher and an Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame coach at Neuqua Valley from 1999 to 2018 — has agreed to accept the athletic director position at Newark.

This comes after the Newark school board decided not to renew the contract of long-time AD Carol Navarro back in April.

Renner — a 1976 graduate of East Aurora and a 1980 grad of the former Aurora College (now Aurora University) — taught in District 204 since the mid 1990s.

He was Neuqua Valley's only baseball coach, until retiring at the conclusion of last season.

Renner posted a 507-227 record at Neuqua with Class 4A state championship in 2007, a third-place finish in 2008 and a fourth-place trophy in 2013. All totaled, he won 12 regional titles and five sectional championships.

Newark principal Jim Still reached out to Renner knowing he might be the right man for the job.

"We interviewed several candidates, and when it came down to it, the interview committee and the school board really felt like Robin was the best fit for the job," Still said. "He's a man of integrity … and I've known him for a long time since we started working together way back in the 90s in District 204 as rookies. I knew he had recently retired, and I reached out to him, and it worked out that he's now our athletic director.

"More than just a successful coach, he's a successful person in life, and his character is second to none. His heart is about service, and he's shown it during his remarkable career. He's a hall of fame coach, but he's most importantly a hall of fame person. He knows about the high expectations of winning, and he's had the same type of success our school has had winning state championships and state trophies.

"It's nice to realize we have somebody in a key position that gets it, will continue to build and keep things moving for us in the right direction."

After graduating from college, Renner had no idea where his life path would ultimately take him, choosing to train race horses for 12 years before opting out and taking a teaching job at Granger Middle School (now Fischer Middle School) in District 204. He also was an assistant baseball coach at Waubonsie Valle before the job at Neuqua opened up, giving him a chance to create his legacy.

"I didn't want to take the job initially, but I interviewed and they hired me at Neuqua before the school was ever built," Renner said. "I took the freshman group before there was even a varsity squad, and it really proved to be a blessing for me after that with great kids, great families and amazing administrators that made my job very easy. It was a very special place for me."

After Renner retired last spring with a 31-4 record and his final 4A regional title in hand, he figured he'd retire to Tennessee with his wife, Diane. But she had other ideas.

"She told me she wanted to work for a few more years and she wasn't ready to retire," Renner said. "So we stayed here, and I wondered what I could do if I'm retired? I coached the fall baseball season at Lewis University with the outfielders, went fishing any chance I could get and got back into the horse business and train horses when I want to."

Then Still called.

"I was up at the barn and my phone rang, and it was Jim," Renner said. "He told me of the AD opening at Newark, and I said 'Not a chance.' But he told me Newark was a school of about 160 kids, not 3,600 or so like Neuqua, and I finally decided to apply."

Still contacted Renner later and told him he had the job, with the legendary coach back in business now as an athletic director for the Norsemen ... coming full circle as a coach at one of the biggest schools in the state to guiding one of the smallest sports contingents within the IHSA.

"The picture Jim painted for me at Newark is right on the money," Renner said. "My assistant, Michelle (Nuzzo), is a rock star, and I know she'll help me a lot moving forward. I believe we'll be a well-oiled machine here at Newark, and I couldn't be more excited about this new chapter of my life leading the Norsemen."