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Jan. 22, 2009

When taking a look down the sidelines at many University of Northern Iowa athletic events, familiar faces of former Panther athletes may be recognized in at the end of the bench or walking along the sidelines. UNI has a number of former student-athletes now working on their graduate degrees while still working with the athletic department.

Brooks McKowen, the former Panther stand-out point guard, now spends his time on the sidelines during basketball games as a graduate assistant for the UNI men's basketball team. McKowen's primary responsibilities with the men's basketball team include being in charge of the film exchange for our team, working with the computer program used to cut and edit game film, and scouting opponents along with helping in practice.

Jordan Lacy, a former defensive lineman for the Panther football team, elected to stick with the UNI football program and is now a graduate assistant coach on the Panther football staff. As a graduate coach Lacy's primary responsibility is breaking down opponents' film for the defensive staff.

Nick Davis, a former linebacker on the UNI football team, works as a graduate assistant in the strength and conditioning department working with a wide variety of programs including men's basketball, wrestling and football. Davis' primary responsibilities include assisting on planning and setting up lifting workouts, along with teaching personal wellness labs and work with new recruits to explain the UNI strength and conditioning program.

Jackie Norton, a former UNI women's basketball player, currently works as a graduate assistant in the athletics compliance office. Norton is primarily in charge of getting National Letters of Intent along with official visits, working with the NCAA Student Assistance Fund, performing transcript evaluations for prospects and transfers, work with medical hardships, serves as a member on the UNI compliance team, and assists with month educational meetings with staff and coaches.

While all four ended up in the same place, they each took a variety of paths in choosing to continue their education at UNI. Davis finished his undergraduate degree by completing an internship with Jed Smith in the strength and conditioning program.

"After working for Jed, I found I really enjoyed the idea of coaching strength and conditioning," Davis said. "I really had no intention of going to grad school, but Jed and Dr. Lund convinced me to apply and here I am."

McKowen had a different reason for sticking with the UNI men's basketball program, giving credit to head coach Ben Jacobson.

"I chose to stay at UNI because I really enjoyed playing for coach Jake," McKowen said. "After I was done playing I wanted to see this program from the other side. I really believed this would be a great place to start my coaching career."

Norton also chose to stay at UNI due to the relationships formed during her tenure as an undergraduate.

"I first chose to stay at UNI because of my boss Steve Schofield," Norton said. "He has been an excellent mentor and taught me a lot. I also chose to stick around because I loved my experience at UNI as an undergrad and wasn't ready to leave yet. There are really great people here at UNI and I wanted to be around them for another year."

Lacy, just like when he was an incoming freshman, the allure of the strong Panther football program was enough to convince him to stay.

"A lot of people know about UNI's rich football tradition," Lacy said. "As a former player, I wanted to continue to be a part of that."

Three of the four former Panther athletes plan to earn their graduate degree in a sport related field, with McKowen and Davis planning on degrees in physical education and Lacy earning a sport and exercise psychology degree. Norton is working on getting a certificate in human resources. Even though they have varying degrees, each hopes to find a job relating to their graduate assistantship.

Although being a graduate assistant can be long hours and tedious work, each former Panther athlete is grateful for their experience with at UNI and understand the benefits and advantages they will have following the completion of their degree.

"The great thing about being a GA is you get to see how the program is run," Lacy said. "Not only do you see that, but you also get great experience to help you in the future."

"As a GA you get to be very hands on with athletes' conditioning workout everyday," Davis said. "Meeting and teaching new students and athletes along with being able to watch the athletes develop and become successful is a huge plus for being a graduate assistant."

"It's great to have the opportunity to learn from the coaches here at UNI," McKowen said. "I know I'm learning a lot about coaching from them along with getting a good education school-wise."

"The huge advantage to being a GA is that you really have a full-time job," Norton said. "You have the same responsibilities as a full-time staff member, you're just going to school too. It's great experience."

Even though there are former student-athletes working in athletic departments as graduate assistants across the country, UNI has provided an atmosphere for a number of former-athletes to take the first step in their professional career by staying with the Purple and Gold at least one more year.