Brooke Henze plans to resign as Lewis-Clark State athletic director
May 1—Brooke Henze announced on Tuesday she will resign as Lewis-Clark State athletic director in June.
Henze took over as the AD in 2017. Before that, she spent two decades involved in Warrior athletics in some capacity. Henze played basketball for LCSC from 1997-2001, was the associate athletic director for seven years prior to taking over as AD and was assistant athletic director for three years before that.
Her departure lines up with the end of her contract and is not related to previous health issues.
In a call to the Tribune, Henze stated she has nothing else to announce at this time regarding what is next for her.
Henze will remain in her position for the remainder of her contract until the end of June and will continue her usual duties, including overseeing the Avista NAIA World Series in Lewiston. She will also help oversee the transition process in finding a new athletic director.
"L-C State is such a special place and I am so grateful that I have been able to spend two decades working with amazing people who have impacted me in such a positive way," Henze said in a news release. "To say I've been blessed is an understatement. I start by thanking Jamie White for giving me my first opportunity to work in athletics. I thank president Dene Thomas for hiring me back after graduate school to be part of the Warrior team in 2006, president Tony Fernandez for giving me a chance to serve as director of athletics in 2017, and president Pemberton for her support the last six years and continued commitment to excellence in Warrior athletics.
"I can't imagine my Warrior life without (preceding athletic director) Gary Picone who has been a truly amazing mentor and friend. To my coaches and staff: coach Fong, Collins, Johnson, Taylor, Palmer, Orlandi and Anderson, and to my staff, Kristina, Samantha, Tracy, George, Alisha, David and Ty, thank you for sticking with me and believing in the Warrior Way. I am so very proud to be part of all the things we accomplished. To the WAA board, sponsors and community, I thank you for your support of the Warriors. I'd like to think that I am leaving Warrior athletics in a better place than when I started, but I do know the best is yet to come."
Henze has been the director of the Avista NAIA World Series since 2011 and was the director of the Warrior Athletic Association, the college's athletics booster club, since 2009.
Under her leadership as AD, the Warriors have sent a team or individual athlete to national tournaments or competitions in nine of the school's 13 athletic programs in the last five years. In 2023, the school added its 13th program — varsity dance.
"I've heard that Brooke was the type of student-athlete who gave it her whole heart and left it all on the court," LCSC president Cynthia Pemberton said in a news release. "I have no trouble believing this to be true because that's what she's done in her 18 years of service at Lewis-Clark State College. No one has worked harder, no one has cared more deeply, no one has put in more time, no one has overcome bigger challenges, and no one has made a bigger impact on Warrior athletics than Brooke."
Lewis-Clark State said in the news release that the search for a new athletic director will begin immediately, with the hope of finding a permanent fill for the position by the fall.
There was no information available for any protocols for a potential interim athletic director available at press time.
Kowatsch can be contacted at 208-848-2268, tkowatsch@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @Teren_Kowatsch.
