Director Brings Love for Athletics to New Role

By Morgan Nunley, Online Editor

NorthWest Arkansas Community College has its first full-time athletic director with the new school year officially underway. Brooke Brewer is hoping to lead and begin the tradition of having the right staff and the right people in place for the program to move forward and begin to take shape.

“It’s very exciting to be here … to get the opportunity to be here leading it (the Athletic Department) is an honor,” Brewer said.

Her selection as the college’s first full-time athletic director was announced Aug. 1, according to a news release. The college began its athletic program in 2021 with men’s and women’s cross country.

Dennis Rittle, NWACC’s president, said in the announcement news release that he is confident Brewer has the talent, character, and drive to build NWACC’s athletic program into “one of the most respected in our conference and, ultimately, in the NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association).” Rittle said she is passionate, extremely organized, and does not shy away from entrepreneurial challenges or hard work. “As an educator and a coach, Brooke knows the importance of making sure our student-athletes succeed in the classroom and in their respective sports,” he said.

Brewer grew up in north Louisiana and spent much of her formative years in the area developing her love for athletics. “Growing up in Louisiana, sports are a big part of the culture and a large part of the school system … I dabbled in lots of things growing up: basketball, softball, cheer, dance, and gymnastics, all the things,” Brewer said with a laugh.

Of all of these potential avenues, Brewer was the most infatuated with dance and that became the major interest that was able to carry her through college as she was a dance major. Brewer’s calling became coaching the dance teams and teaching the students. Her unique experiences with the dance and spirit programs at various schools provided Brewer a new and different perspective for the building and interaction of the arts and athletics and their combination together.

“Through that, my love for athletics in general grew, and I really love the students and I love coaching, but I love the administrative side of my job,” she said. “The building of programs and taking teams and growing them … how those teams interact with certain aspects of the school community became what I was passionate about,” Brewer admitted.

Brewer’s role in helping build the programs of Alma and Bentonville West gave her the experience and knowledge she needs to help take on the new role at NWACC. Her first stop at Alma was a key step in her journey and she became more involved with the programs on the administrative levels and not just the teaching or coaching side.

Brewer was a member of the Alma school district for seven years. The district serves not just the students of Alma but also the local smaller towns and communities in the area. Brewer explained a bit about the process and what the undertakings were for herself and others throughout her time there. “When I got there, they were building a dance program. For them, what that looked like was figuring out the intersection of athletics and arts,” Brewer said.

Brewer explained that the dance team at Alma was starting to compete through the Arkansas Activities Association, but also the program required a balance for the students with recreational classes.

By the end of her time at Alma, Brewer and the team ended up with about 300 students (from grades 7-12) involved in the program. The program did a “large show” at the end of each year and the profits from the show would be donated back for student scholarships. These funds over the course of seven years raised about $100,000 in ticket sales for the students and their education.

Brewer explained the significance and importance of this program and how the school community came together for the benefit of future students and each other. “That was such a cool thing to see these students work so hard and then it get paid back out to them … that intersection of how the different student groups would work together … it was a full student-centered program. It was nice to see that unfold,” Brewer said.

When speaking about her time at West, Brewer explained her role in that program and her responsibilities as the dance coach at the relatively new school. “I did a lot of program building … it was a great time. I love the Northwest Arkansas area. I think it’s such a unique area,” Brewer pointed out.

Her experience at West opened Brewer’s eyes to NWACC and the institution’s developing athletic department and Brewer’s love for the NWA area only grew. “I’ve been, in my time with secondary education, very familiar with NWACC from the concurrent programs all the way to the footprint that NWACC has on the community,” Brewer said.

The initial thought process for the program are things that serve the student body as a whole, Brewer said. These things include improvements to the fitness center and even intramural sports coming to NWACC.

The fitness center at NWACC has Walmart donated, high quality equipment that the administration is looking to keep. This is something that could be continued as NWACC is still looking for “different avenues like that of businesses who may be interested in donating equipment for us to use,” Brewer said. Many of the changes would be cosmetic and more of a clean-up job to make it seem more “open.” These changes include fresh paint (to match NWACC’s color scheme) and fans that move air to circulate the room better.

The back room of the fitness center is mostly used for storage at the moment, but even that also has a plan in place. “That back room is going to become an esports area,” Brewer said. That space is set to be used by the NWACC esports team. The equipment for that was donated and the area is to be open for “any student to utilize.”

Regarding intramural sports, Brewer emphasized that the club will be prioritized once the students and staff get settled in for the semester and enrollment is stabilized. Brewer stated that it will have to be done with student information whether that be a survey or a table in the student center. “It will all be driven by what students are wanting,” Brewer said. It is all based on “what students are wanting and comparing that to what we have the capability to do in terms of equipment and in terms of space,” Brewer said.

Brewer touched on the importance of ensuring that the program is student-centered and student-focused. “Everyone here is very student-focused … all of it, including the wins are for the students.” The program is meant to be a platform for not just the student athletes, but also for the non-student athletes. “Athletics is set to serve the student body. We want it to be something that all students can get excited about,” Brewer said.

The plan for the department is the foundation. Brewer even said, “Right now we are in the foundation of making the plan … where do we want to see ourselves in a year? Three years? Five years? Ten years?” Brewer said. The department is keying in on what resources and processes need to be involved in this plan to make their goals achievable and real. The plan is a “delicate balance” of expectation and reality of the building of this program. It is going to be a process that eventually takes the NWACC athletic department where it wants to go. Brewer at the helm of the ship is just the first step in the right direction. The cross-country teams’ continued success and growth is only going to make the call louder for more sports at NWACC. The season is on for the cross-country team as they continue to blaze the trail for sports and athletics at NWACC.

Brewer concluded by emphasizing the resource that is the most important, that being the community and the people wanting to see the program succeed. “The best thing is the connections in the community and finding the like-minded people who are excited and want to see this program succeed and through whatever means, want to contribute.”