by Ken Jeffries

Reporter

What do you visualize when you hear college athletics? It might be a packed football stadium, with the student body hollering for their team. It might be the swarming of the March Madness court by the team and its fans. It might even be a particular team or stadium. Whatever the case, college athletics has certainly impacted the lives of many, regardless of if the person is on the field of play. The smaller institutions, however, don’t give as much recognition or acknowledgement to athletic endeavors.

Community colleges and smaller universities don’t have the same emphasis on athletics as the larger schools. NorthWest Arkansas Community College is the largest community college in the state of Arkansas, yet it doesn’t have the largest athletics department. When compared to some other Arkansas community colleges—North Arkansas College, Southern Arkansas University Tech, Cossatot Community College, Arkansas State University Mid-South, National Park College, and University of Arkansas Rich Mountain—NWACC doesn’t have as big of an athletic department. 

NWACC may be about to change this. The men’s new cross-country team competed in their inaugural 2021 season with great success. In 2022, they won the NJCAA Region 2 Championship and finished 11th in the Division II nationals in Richmond, Virginia. 

Head Coach Josphat Boit is a former runner himself and is eager to lead this new program and help it grow. “Now that I’m done with my running, it’s giving back to the sport that I love,” Boit said.  

Boit is a University of Arkansas alum and competed at the highest level of cross country competition. He won two NCAA national titles, six SEC titles, and two SEC Athlete of the Year honors. He also has eight All-American honors and is a ten-time All-SEC performer. His success as a runner translated over to coaching with his impressive first-year performance as the coach of the Eagles. “It was a brand new sport,” Boit said. “They have never had a sporting event until they said they were starting with cross country. What a great way to start (the athletic department) and build it from zero to something!” Boit said. “We have a lot of talent around Northwest Arkansas,” Boit said.

The expansion of the NWACC athletic department has been a topic of conversation in NWACC board meetings and in conversations on and off campus for a while. The success of the cross country team may have given new urgency to advance the exploration of adding other sports. 

Boit mentioned one possible consideration in a growing field. “John Luedtke, who is our assistant coach, is trying to bring Esports to NWACC,” he said. “I feel like the more sports events (we have), the more involved the students will be.”

Participation in Esports would be new to NWACC, and could bring in new eyes to the gaming community, especially in Northwest Arkansas. It really puts a showcase on the Esports side of competition and it could help in the building of the athletic competition through video game competition. 

Boit has the inside experience of being a successful student athlete who is attempting to look at this situation from the athletic point of view. The “boardroom” point of view, so to speak, can come from someone like Justin White, vice president of student services for NWACC.

White is one of the more prominent voices for the expansion of the athletic department and the continuation of growth opportunities for student athletes at NWACC. He is also not the only one who has seen the potential of expanding sports at NWACC. “The president and the board of trustees have both expressed interest in expanding athletics for the college in the next three to five years,” White said.

The first major question would be what sports have the potential to be seen in the next 3-5 years at NWACC. White addressed this when he said, “People are quick to throw out sports that they like. We have heard soccer, volleyball, baseball, and a new one that is growing around the country, which is cheerleading. … It’s all gonna come down to what’s best for students and what’s being a good financial steward of public funds.”

There are, of course, some obstacles that come along with the expansion of sports at colleges. The key things White pointed out were “space and resources.” One part of the resources piece is the financial side and ensuring that the numbers work, but there are other contributing factors include, too, such as finding qualified staff and head coaches to run each individual athletic programs, and hiring an athletic director to oversee the entire operation, In terms of space, White said there is “a possibility” that as NWACC begins to expand the sports department, NWACC could partner with some of the local high schools and fitness areas to provide playing and practicing spaces for the athletes. The facilities vary, depending on the sport, but it could be a partnership that benefits both sides for a short period of time, and it would allow NWACC the time to build a facility(s) for the student athletes and staff. 

Housing is also something that could have an impact on sports being brought to the forefront. “It will only support it,” White said. “Housing is an issue for Northwest Arkansas residents … having another opportunity for our students to live on campus, to study on campus, to go to class would be a huge benefit.” These two would go hand in hand. The expansion of the athletic department and the building of housing for the students would both be major steps in providing a space for the NWACC students to create the college experience. 

To close, White placed the emphasis on the students and getting the feedback from the student body, so the staff understands what is necessary to help the college continue to grow and become a great place to learn. “We really do want to make this the best possible experience,” he said.