PRESIDENT/ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

PRESIDENT DR. MICHAEL J. HEINDL

Dr. Michael J. Heindl was selected as the ninth president of Northwest Mississippi Community College by the college’s Board of Trustees during a special meeting held April 26, 2018 on the Senatobia campus.

A native of Clinton, Heindl heads the state’s third-largest community college with a current enrollment of nearly 7,000 students on five campuses and online.

Heindl, a community college graduate, brings with him to Northwest experience in a number of areas, including finance, technology, legal issues, human resources, emergency management, campus leadership, student services, workforce training and admissions.

Heindl holds a Ph.D. in community college leadership from Mississippi State University (2011), a Juris Doctor from Thomas M. Cooley Law School at Western Michigan University (2001), a B.S. in psychology from Mississippi College (1997) and an Associate of Arts in general studies/music from Hinds (1994).

He began his career in education in 2001 as golf tournament coordinator at Hinds Community College and also served as an intern for the Mississippi Supreme Court while working on his law degree during that time. In July, 2001 he became dean of students for Wesley College in Florence before being named district director of Admissions and Records at Hinds in 2003.

In 2006, Heindl was program specialist for Career and Technical Education at the Mississippi Community College Board, where some of his responsibilities included coordination for all career-technical programs and workforce training for the state’s 15 community colleges.

In 2007 he returned to Hinds, where he worked for four years as dean of students for the Rankin County Campus before being named vice president of the Jackson County Campus of MGCCC in 2011. A year later, he moved into the position of executive vice president of Administration and Finance.

In addition to his administrative experience, Heindl has 17 years of teaching experience, having served as an adjunct instructor for legal courses in both the Department of Business and in the Career-Technical paralegal program at Hinds. He has also taught graduate-level courses in higher education law at Mississippi College and was an adjunct professor teaching Community College Legal Issues in the Community College Leadership doctoral program at Mississippi State University

Active in a number of professional groups and community organizations, Heindl served as president-elect of the Community College Business Officers Association (CCBO), a member of the Gulf Coast Business Council Master’s Class and the Education Strategic Planning Committee for the Mississippi Coast, on the Planning Committee for Leadership Mississippi and an Angel runner for Ainsley’s Angels, a national organization that provides racing/running experiences for special needs individuals.

He has served as a member of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Commission on Structured Pathways, Statewide Dual Enrollment and Advanced Placement Task Force and was on the MGCCC District Athletic Council. He also assisted other colleges with the accreditation process by serving on the Finance Accreditation Review Team for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Among his many accomplishments are the MGCCC Master Trainer Award, CCBO Outstanding Chief Business Officer Award, and Mississippi Top Ten Business Leaders Under 40. He has participated in leadership programs including the AACC Future Presidents Institute, Mississippi Economic Council, Leadership Mississippi and Leadership DeSoto County.

He and his wife, the former Jennifer Ingram have three children, Taryn (26), Harrison (17), and Nicholas (15) and one grandson, Jayson (6).

DR. MICHAEL J. HEINDL pictured with his wife, Jennifer, sons Harrison and Nicholas, and grandson, Jayson. Heindl was selected as the College’s ninth president on April 26, 2018.

Under the leadership of DR. MICHAEL J. HEINDL, Northwest has experienced growth in numerous areas. One of those areas include overall facilities, a plan that included upgrades at Bobby Franklin Field and a new, state-of-the-art softball/soccer facility, which is slated for a March 2022 completion date.

DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS BRIAN OAKES

Brian Oakes enters his third season as the Director of Athletics for Northwest Mississippi Community College.

During his first season as athletic director, Oakes took on the task of replacing retiring and all-time winningest coaches Don Edwards (women’s basketball) and Mike Rowan (softball), appointing Troy Howell and Chelsea Bramlett, respectively, to the vacant positions.

In his first season, Howell led Northwest to a 17-10 overall record and a runner-up finish in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament, falling one win shy of the Lady Rangers’ first NJCAA National Tournament bid since the 2005-06 campaign. Bramlett’s debut was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic but the former Mississippi State and Team USA competitor still fielded an 8-6 overall record, which included a conference sweep against Pearl River and a four-game winning streak to end the season. (Both teams would later make deep postseason runs during the 2021 seasons, with Bramlett’s softball squad finishing two wins shy of the program’s first NJCAA Division II World Series appearance.)

Oakes also brought in former Lewisburg and Southaven coach Allison Burchyett to lead the women’s volleyball program, which took the court for its inaugural season in January 2021. During her first season, Burchyett posted a 6-12 overall record and led her team to the Region 23 qualifier match against Itawamba, falling one victory short of making an appearance in the NJCAA playoffs.

Another one of Oakes’ head coaching hires arrived in December 2020, when James Beattie took over the reins of the Northwest women’s soccer program. In his first season, Beattie guided the Lady Rangers to a 6-6 overall record and the first round of the MACCC/Region 23 playoffs, the first postseason appearance for any Northwest soccer program since 2017.

Additionally, Oakes has also been responsible for hiring assistant coaches Dustin Young (softball), Carla Bartee (women’s basketball), Paige Anders and Charles Jones (football).

Oakes arrived at Northwest from Hinds Community College, where he spent eight seasons as the Eagles’ offensive line coach. He replaced Dr. Matthew Domas, who served as interim athletic director during the 2018-19 academic year following the departure of Don “Bubba” Skelton.

In his eight seasons at Hinds, Oakes coached over 30 offensive linemen who have gone on to play at the four-year programs, with 22 of those signing to play at the Division I level. He has helped develop the likes of Justin Sandifer, who was selected to All-MACJC and All-Region 23 first teams in 2014 and D’Tavieus Taylor, who was an NJCAA All-American in 2015. Some of his most notable former players include NFL veterans Norman Price and DeVondre Seymour.

Prior to his coaching stint at Hinds, Oakes served as head football coach and athletic director at Stone High School in Wiggins from 2006-2010, where he guided the Tomcats to the playoffs in 2008-09 after back-to-back winning seasons. He had numerous players participate in the Bernard Blackwell All-Star Game, including Parade All-American and 2010 Clarion-Ledger Dandy Dozen selection Darian Arrington.

A former student-athlete with Hinds, Northwestern State and Southern Arkansas, Oakes began his coaching career in 1998 as an assistant coach at Hattiesburg High School, where he helped lead the Tigers to the state finals. He then moved on to Belhaven College for a year before becoming a graduate assistant at Delta State University, where he was a part of the school’s first national championship in 2000.

Oakes, who received his bachelor’s degree in coaching and sports administration from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1998, spent five seasons at Warren Central High School, his alma mater, before going to Stone High School.

Oakes received a master’s degree in health and a specialist’s degree in educational leadership from Mississippi College in 2006.

Oakes is a native of Vicksburg and is married to the former Bridgett Dendy. The couple have two sons, Ranson (19) and Briley (17).

Northwest Director of Athletics BRIAN OAKES, pictured with his wife Bridgett. Oakes was introduced as the college’s Director of Athletics on July 1, 2019.

In his first two years at Northwest, Oakes has hired four head coaches, three of whom took their respective squads to the playoffs within their first two seasons.

MEDIA INFORMATION

NORTHWEST ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

Office: (662) 562-3303 Fax: (662) 562-3303

Mailing Address:

Northwest Mississippi Community College Athletic Communications Department 4975 Hwy. 51 North Senatobia, MS 38668

SPORTS INFORMATION CONTACTS

BRIAN LENTZ

Sports Information Director Cell: (901) 626-7885 Office: (662) 562-3303 Email: blentz@northwestms.edu Twitter: @BrianJLentz

BRIAN OAKLEY

Sports Information Specialist Office: (662) 562-3269 Email: boakley@northwestms.edu

KAYLEIGH MITCHELL Director of Marketing and Strategic Communciations

ALYSSA PIRANI

Assistant Director of Marketing and Strategic Communciations

NATALIE EHRHARDT

Communications Specialist

JENNIFER CORBIN Graphic Designer

KAMIEN BELL

Creative Video/Digital Media Coordinator

COVERAGE

Northwest Mississippi Community College maintains a comprehensive official athletic department website. Up-to-date information, including schedules, statistics, rosters, player signings and news releases for all sports are provided on the award-winning nwccrangers.com. In-game live stats, live video and live audio is available for each Northwest basketball contest. Fans can also follow the team on numerous social media outlets, by searching the username @NWCC_Rangers. Seventh-year sports information director, Brian Lentz, and third-year sports information specialist, Brian Oakley, maintain the athletic website and the main athletic social media outlet (@NWCC_Rangers) on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Additionally, sport-specific Twitter outlets are also surpervised by the athletic communications office, with each respective coaching staff also handling social media efforts.

CREDENTIALS

Media or photo credentials are required for admittance to Northwest athletic events for working media. However, it is requested that media seeking to cover a game contact the sports information director prior to avoid additional problems. Specific media seating is not available for Northwest baseball or softball contests at Jim Miles Field or the Senatobia Sports Park, but any working media can contact the sports information office in advance of any home event to request media accomodations. For further inquiries,

contact Brian Lentz at (662) 562-3303 or at blentz@northwestms.edu.

PRESS SERVICES

Media guides, game notes, rosters, results and statistics are updated daily on nwccrangers.com, and are printed for media upon request. An official NJCAA box score and play-by-play information may be obtained from the sports information director approximately 15 minutes following the conclusion of each home contest. For road contests, stats will be uploaded to both nwccrangers.com and njcaa.com within 24-36 hours after the conclusion of the game, as provided by the hosting team.

INTERVIEWS

All player and coach interviews must be arranged through the sports information director. Coaches and athletes will be available following games after a brief 10-minute cooling off period. The best time to interview coaches is typically in the mornings, Monday through Wednesday. The best time to interview student-athletes is directly after weekday practices around 5:00 p.m.

GAME BROADCASTS

Broadcast media in attendance are requested to contact the sports information director at least one week prior to the game in question. Northwest will have a live video/audio broadcast for all home and select road contests online at www.nwccrangers.com/watch. All play-by-play duties will be handled by Gary Darby or Michael Gross, unless there are scheduling conflicts with select Ole Miss athletic events. Sports Information Director Brian Lentz will also handle select broadcasts if needed.