Director discusses five-year plan for sports

By Morgan Nunley

Online Editor
Athletic Director Brooke Brewer announced upcoming plans and goals for the growing athletic program at a luncheon at NorthWest Arkansas Community College.

The luncheons will be a monthly occurrence on the last Thursday of every month, with the inaugural luncheon on Sept. 28. At this initial luncheon, Brewer introduced herself and provided information about the vision for the program and how it impacts the sponsors and community as a whole.

Brewer announced that there is a five-year plan for the athletic department being put into place and that they are initializing the first steps of that plan. The eventual goal for the program is to have 6-8 sports total at NWACC, with the goal of uniting the community and student body being placed at the forefront.

The goal is to provide opportunities for people in the community and also provide them with that “soft skills” experience that will assist their careers beyond the realm of college.

Brewer emphasized the vision that the sponsors and the leadership of the college share. The concept of the community “buying in” was brought up a few times, with the result of that community involvement being rapid and exponential growth for not only the program, but the people themselves and the memories that would be shared by the students and athletes.

The core idea of the luncheon was then announced: the introduction of the new Esports team and the plan and hopes behind it.

The National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) is starting to become involved in Esports, and NWACC is hoping to participate in their events, that have still yet to be revealed. Some of the game titles have been revealed and the players will be playing a variety of games. The eight

game titles listed include FIFA, Hearthstone, Madden, Overwatch, Rainbow 6, Rocket League, Valorant, and Super Smash Bros.

Statistics show that Esports is one of the fastest growing professional sports in the world, especially among the younger nation.” Some 380 million people worldwide watch some form of Esports. It is also the fastest growing sport at the high school level, with even the college teams doubling in size over the last two years.

The most important aspects of Esports being brought to NWACC includes the fact that it doesn’t include any type of travel, and will be therefore more financially stable for the college, while also being stimulating enough and costly enough through the high-dollar technology and set-ups that will be required.

The sport will continue to be a club, and will continue to grow from its current number of about 25 students, with the eventual goal being that the Esports program will become competitive and sanctioned in the spring semester. Brewer also announced that Carlos Merino would become the Esports coach, and he would be in charge of leading the program forward.

Brewer recognized the sport as being “non-traditional,” but also committed that everyone involved is going to “learn this sport,” and she also expressed her excitement to get started.

The luncheon wrapped up with an update from cross country coach Josphat Boit and his team’s update on the season.

The cross-country team has shown to be dynamic over the course of the young season. At a recent meet, the team showed its dominance despite its youth. The Eagles competed and placed first through sixth on the boys’ side of the meet, and the girls were able to place first and fifth respectively. The boys are currently ranked #23 in the cross-country division of the NJCAA.

This is an impressive feat for the third-year program that hopes to continue its success in the next few competitions that includes the Chili Pepper meet, along with regionals and nationals, with nationals taking place in Huntsville, Alabama on Nov. 11.