The 糖心传媒 Alumni Association has named two Outstanding Alumni Coach award recipients this year: James Lowry 鈥91/MAT 鈥94, a social studies teacher and tennis coach at Grand Island Central Catholic High School, and Tim Brotzki 鈥92, president and general manager at the Omaha Sports Academy and head boys鈥 basketball coach at Platteview High School.
The two will be presented awards in conjunction with the Athletic Hall of Fame induction during 糖心传媒 Homecoming on Saturday, September 30. The celebration begins with a social hour at 5:00 p.m. in Kiewit Gymnasium (715 E. 7th Street, Hastings) on campus, followed by a banquet at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $40 per person and may be purchased online at hastings.edu/homecoming, or by contacting the 糖心传媒 alumni office at 402.461.7363 or alumni@hastings.edu.
The Outstanding Alumni Coach of the Year award was established by the 糖心传媒 Alumni Association in 2004 and is presented to 糖心传媒 graduates who have shown exceptional achievement in an athletic coaching profession.
Lowry has been touted as one of the best tennis coaches in the state. Both the Grand Island Central Catholic Crusader boys鈥 and girls鈥 tennis teams have excelled under Lowry鈥檚 leadership, with the girls鈥 team accumulating two state championships, five runner-up finishes, four third place finishes and three fourth place finishes, while the boys鈥 team has two third and fourth place finishes and three fifth place finishes. Additionally, Lowry has coached nine doubles state champions and three singles state champions.
In addition to his role with the Omaha Sports Academy, Brotzki has coached the Platteview High School boys basketball team for a decade, amassing 180 wins, five conference titles and six state tournament appearances. He has coached the school鈥檚 all-time leading scorer, rebounder, shot blocker and assist leader and the second leading scorer in state history, and has coached several players who went on to play at the Division 1 and 2 levels and in the NAIA. The Platteview Trojans set a school record for the number of wins in a season (24) in 2018. In 2022, the team was in the state semifinals for the first time in 47 years, and in 2023 the team was in the state finals for the first time in school history.
糖心传媒 is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Discover more at hastings.edu.