NJCAA Insider - September 2017

REGION 1

Servicing the Grand Canyon State, Region 1 covers the entire state of Arizona and is guided by Jerry Smith (women’s director) and Art Becker (men’s director) with the assistance of Samantha Ezell (women’s assistant) and Christina Hundley (men’s assistant).

A closer look at Art Becker – Region 1 Men’s Director

A faculty member at Scottsdale Community College for 38 years, Becker served as an instructor, coach and athletic director until his retirement in 2013. He currently is an adjunct faculty member at Scottsdale. 

His NJCAA service began in 1994 as Assistant Region Director before becoming Men's Region Director from 1997-2003. He then became NJCAA Vice President for Men from 2003-2005 and later NJCAA President from 2005-2011. He has received many honors from the NJCAA, including the George E. Killian Award of Excellence this past April.

Becker also served as an officer for several other national associations, including the Arizona Community College Athletic Association, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and was a founding member of the National Alliance of Two Year Athletic Administrators (NATYCAA). 

A former All-American basketball player at Arizona State, Becker was inducted into the ASU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990 and the PAC 12 Hall of Honor (Basketball) in 2016. He enjoyed a six-year stint as a professional in the ABA (American Basketball Association) where he twice was named an All-Star.

A closer look at Jerry Smith – Region 1 Women’s Director

A native of Red Oak, Oklahoma, Smith has spent over 40 years in two-year college athletics as a coach or administrator. He began his career as the head baseball coach and assistant basketball coach at Murray State College in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, before serving over three decades at Eastern Oklahoma State in many roles, including men’s basketball coach, athletic director, alumni director and vice president.

For the past 13 seasons Smith has led the athletics program at Arizona Western where he has guided the Matadors to national prominence in several sports. Smith has served the NJCAA since 2002, first as the Men’s Director for Region 2 and as the Women’s Director of Region 1 since 2010. He is currently an at-large member of the NJCAA Executive Committee.

Smith was also one of the top football officials in Oklahoma earlier in his career, officiating top high school and college football games in the state and even served as the coordinator of officials for the Oklahoma Secondary School Activity Association.