by TSAILE, ARIZONA— Warlance Foster (Lakota/Diné) joins the Student Success staff at Diné College as the new Athletic Director. Foster fills a position that has been vacant since November 2014.
As the new AD, Foster oversees the Student Activities Program that provides extra-curricular and community events at the Tsaile and Shiprock campuses. He also oversees three successful athletic programs at the College’s main campus in Tsaile: Archery, Rodeo, and Cross-Country.
He plans to build the College athletic program to include more sports and opportunities for young athletes. “Not many of our Native students are recruited to play at the college level. I want to provide an athletic program that gives them an opportunity to play collegiate sports.” He plans to expand the athletic program to include men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball.
Foster most recently served as Athletic Director at the Window Rock Unified School District where he was in charge of 19 athletic programs, as well as, the district’s Fightin’ Scouts Events Center. Prior to that, he successfully managed the Tribal Relations program for the University of Phoenix. Under his leadership, the program ranked nationally as a top Native American graduate program.
Education and athletics runs deep in Foster’s family. At an early age, he saw his father (Diné) compete in baseball while earning a bachelor’s degree. He also saw his mother (Lakota) complete in basketball at Diné College in the mid-70’s when the College had a basketball team. She went on to earn a bachelor’s and a master’s degree.
“By seeing my parents compete at the college level and get their degrees, I knew I could do it. In my family, when someone achieves something, your job was to go a step beyond that. I knew I wanted to play professionally. And now I have to earn a Ph.D,” Foster says with a smile.
Foster’s drive for excellence doesn’t stop with him. He hopes to provide athletic programs at the College that will pave the way for athletes to follow in his own footsteps. He played basketball for Western State Colorado University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology. He went on to play overseas for the Netherlands Astronauts, and back in the states with the Gallup Outlaws, an ABA team. He was standout on both professional teams. He later went on to earn a master’s degree from the University of Phoenix in business administration.
(Editors Note: Story originally appears on Native News Online at: http://nativenewsonline.net/currents/dine-college-hires-new-as-athletic-director/) All Rights Reserved.
War, I’m so proud of you! You have always worked, studied & trained so hard, even as a kid. I’ve always looked up to your determination, focus & drive, so will younger generations to come, you have so much to give back to NDN communities. I’m honored to be your sister. I miss you b love you.