Arizona Western College’s storied history has been sprinkled with crowning achievements, but there has not been a more successful stretch than the fifteen complete seasons under the leadership of Athletic Director Jerry Smith.
Smith’s impact has been particularly felt by Matador Athletics but he has also been a leader in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference as well as the National Junior College Athletic Association while in Yuma.
Since Smith moved to Yuma in 2005, the Matadors have won over 2,000 games with a winning percentage of .722 across seven sports. His longevity has led to stability as across all programs with the current seven head coaches logging a combined 67 seasons at AWC. That has included over 20 Region Championships, eleven trips to NJCAA Championship Tournaments, and three NJCAA National Championship Appearances.
A constant champion of both athletic and academic success of student-athletes, the Matadors have consistently seen multiple teams every year garner NJCAA All-Academic recognition with over 250 individual student-athletes earning individual Academic Recognition from the NJCAA at AWC.
To support that success, Smith has been pivotal in the Yuma Community while increasing the success and service of the Matador Athletic Association, helping to provide scholarships to student-athletes while connecting them to the community at large.
While the Matadors success has long made them a force in the ACCAC, Smith has also helped to lead the conference having served for two years as the president of the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference as well as the Western States Football League. He continues to serve as Region I's Director of Women's Athletics, having held the position over eight years..
Not only has Smith been a guiding force at the helm of Matador Athletics and ACCAC, but he has long been a pillar in the NJCAA having spent over four decades serving as a coach and administrator. In 2019, the NJCAA recognized Smith’s service with the Mary Ellen Leicht Award for his years of excellence. He currently serves on the NJCAA Board of Directors.
Prior to AWC, Smith’s time in the NJCAA was primarily spent Eastern Oklahoma State College near his native Red Oak, Oklahoma. He spent nine seasons as the head basketball coach while also serving as Athletic Director at EOSC before taking on the school’s Alumni Association as a Director and then becoming the Vice President of Student Services and Director of Development.
Just two months into Tim Slack's tenure, the Matadors saw their second team of the athletic season punch their ticket to an NJCAA Tournament. And it happened again just two months later as Arizona Western saw three teams appear in the NJCAA National Tournament, punctuating every sports season at the National Level.
Telling the stories of each of those teams via livestream, AWC TV (where he is the Voice of the Matadors on all televised sporting events), in print and online, are just a glimpse of Tim's primary function within Matador Athletics. His goal is to connect the journeys and stories of AWC's student athletes to the local community in Yuma, the college at large, and all those supporting AWC Athletics.
With a decade of professional sports experience, his professional career has spanned the country from California to Kansas to North Carolina and spanned sports industries on every medium from Television to Radio to Internet. A two-time recipient of the Ric Buhler Award for Radio Excellence as well as a pair of Broadcaster of the Year Awards in Professional Baseball, he has covered professional and student athletes alike, across Baseball, Basketball, Football, Soccer, Softball and Volleyball. At AWC, Tim is the primary contact for the Athletic Department as well as the Matador Athletic Association. Tim works on creative storytelling and communication for the Matadors and tells the stories of the student athletes through AWCMatadors.com as well as the social media platforms (@AWCMatadors) on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
In addition to his responsibilities as Sports Information Director, Tim's role as Associate Athletic Director helps him integrate Matador Athletics into the community by building relationships with local businesses and community members to contribute to the Matador Athletic Assocation.
Of all the constants at Arizona Western College, Cindy Evans role in the Athletic Department as the longest serving Matador has been invaluable. Over twenty years with the Athletic Department, and over 30 at AWC, Cindy has been instrumental behind-the-scenes helping to organize 13 different NJCAA National Tournament Appearances. But her impact reaches far beyond the premier events, serving as the primary point of contact for Matador Coaches in the day-to-day aspects of AWC. She facilitates MAA Meetings and the annual MAA Golf Tournament with coordination and execution in addition to a crucial role in all Matador Gameday efforts.
While her time in Matador Athletics has seen Cindy work for four different athletic directors, she has been a consistent fixture in helping to promote the Matador Brand and operations. Evans started at the AWC Bookstore in the old AWC Student Union when she first became a campus employee in 1981. Evans moved to the school’s Registration Office after that before taking over as Athletic Secretary in 1997.
Evans is married to Brent, who retired after a long, successful career as middle school teacher at Castle Dome Middle School, and dotes on her two daughters, Megan and Jennifer, and her five granddaughters.
Allison Griffin (Alli) is entering her second year with the Matador family! She comes to Arizona Western College after working as an Assistant Athletic Trainer at Webber International University. Growing up in a military family, she has never lived in one place for long but considers Arizona to be home. She fell for the athletic training profession after her internship at the University of Arizona working with volleyball. After graduating from Empire High School, Alli was accepted into the Athletic Training Program at Northern Arizona University. There she had the opportunity to work with Flagstaff High School’s athletics, Northern Arizona University’s football team, and Millennium High School’s athletics. During her senior year, she completed original research that was accepted for presentation at the RMATA Symposium, NATA Convention, and then published in an undergraduate journal. Alli graduated at the top of her class in 2016 and then moved to Florida to start her career at Webber International University, where she worked with the football, bowling, and tennis teams. During her year there she redesigned emergency action plans, assisted in rewriting policies and procedures, and helped the men’s bowling team bring home the Intercollegiate Team Championships Helmer Cup. Her time at Webber International University ended in 2017 after making the decision to move back home to Arizona and join the Matadors.
Luke enters his second year with the Matador Sports Medicine department. He was born and raised in Modesto, California. He attended Modesto Junior College where he learned about the profession of athletic training under mentor Bob Boswell. Luke transferred to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette where he completed his Bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training and passed the Board of Certification testing to become a Certified Athletic Trainer in the spring of 2016. After graduation, he enrolled in graduate school at San Jose State University and completed his graduate assistantship at Santa Clara University. While at Santa Clara University, Luke worked with the water polo, tennis, and baseball teams. He worked alongside Stan Conte with the Santa Clara University baseball team where they developed a baseball-specialized sports medicine program from the ground up. Luke graduated with his Master’s degree from San Jose State University in the spring of 2018. He currently holds certifications as an Athletic Trainer and a Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
