Lewis-Clark State College Athletic Director Brooke Henze has been named the Women Leaders in College Sports Administrator of the Year for the NAIA and community college level.
Henze, who is in her third year as athletic director and 14th year overall in athletic administration at LC State, will be honored during the Women Leaders in College Sports national convention on Oct. 15 in Phoenix. Henze is one of eight female college administrators who will be honored.
For the 2018-19 school year, LCSC finished No. 21 in the Learfield IMG Directors’ Cup standings, a huge accomplishment considering the college does not offer 10 of the 24 sports that Learfield uses to determine the standings.
During Henze’s tenure as the athletic director, the college has been honored twice as the NAIA’s Best Championship Host for its work with the Avista NAIA World Series. The 10-team double-elimination tournament has been held at LCSC 28 times, including the last 19 straight. Henze recently worked out a contract extension with the NAIA that guarantees the tournament will remain at Harris Field through 2024.
Henze was raised in Lewiston and is a 1997 graduate of Lewiston High School. She played basketball for four season at LCSC and helped the team qualify for the NAIA National Tournament all four seasons. During her senior year, the Warriors advanced to the NAIA Final Four and finished with a 33-4 record, which at that time, was a program best. During her four years, LCSC posted a 106-23 record.
Henze graduated from LC State in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. She went on to obtain a master’s degree in athletic administration from Gonzaga University in 2007.
Along with overseeing LCSC’s 12 varsity sports, Henze has an instrumental role in fundraising, operations, and event management for athletics. She has served as director of the LCSC booster club, the Warrior Athletic Association, since 2009.
In 2017, Henze was honored with the Robert E. “Ish” Smith Award from the NAIA Baseball Coaches Executive Committee. The award honors the “unselfish promotion of NAIA baseball” by a baseball coach or an administrator. Last fall, Henze received the Rising Star Young Alumna Award from the LCSC Alumni Association. (Lewis-Clark State College)
