UA Little Rock athletic department adds 5 executives
New Little Rock Athletics members (from left): Noah Henkell, Brandy Dixon, Nate Olson, Dan Crowley and Garrett Ton. Courtesy UA Little Rock.
Little Rock Director of Athletics Frank M. Cuervo announced Tuesday (Dec. 17) the addition of five executives to the department’s senior leadership team, including Deputy Director of Athletics and Chief Revenue Officer Dan Crowley, Associate Director of Athletics for Facilities and Operations Garrett Ton, Associate Director of Athletics for Development Noah Henkell, Associate Director of Athletics for Marketing and Engagement Brandy Dixon, and Associate Director of Athletics for Strategic Communications Nate Olson.
“I’m thrilled to be able to bring experienced professionals like Dan, Garrett, Noah, Brandy and Nate to our program,” said Cuervo. “You win with people, and I’m confident that these additions to our team will enable us to provide world-class support for our sport programs, comprised of elite student-athletes and coaches, as we build champions in the classroom, in the community and in competition.”
Crowley, a Hall of Fame quarterback at Towson (Maryland) University, boasts a wealth of athletics administration and fundraising experience. A Bowie, Md., native, Crowley most recently served as the Executive Vice President of The Best is Ahead Foundation (TBIAF). The organization aids underprivileged youth in the Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia metropolitan areas using University of Maryland football student-athletes’ Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) opportunities to further charitable initiatives.
His collegiate athletics administrative experience began in 2011 as the Director of Development at Towson. In 2014, he was promoted to Senior Associate Director of Athletics and Chief Development Officer, where Crowley oversaw all revenue generation for Towson Athletics, including ticket sales, multi-media rights and the Tiger Athletic Fund, Towson Athletics’ fundraising arm. From November 2021 thru April 2022, Crowley served as the Interim Director of Athletics for the Tigers.
Ton brings more than eight years of collegiate athletics facilities and operations experience to Little Rock. For the past two years, Ton has served as the Assistant Athletics Director for Facilities and Operations at Boise State. There, he supervised the daily operations and maintenance of all athletics facilities and was the game manager for Bronco Football. The former San Jose State basketball letterman worked at his alma mater for six years, first as a Facilities Coordinator and later in a leadership role as the Assistant Athletics Director of Facilities and Events.
Dixon is in her third stint with the Trojans Athletics. Previously, she worked in communications, and now will lead the program’s marketing and community relations efforts. She first came to Little Rock in 2005 as Assistant Sports Information Director working directly with the Women’s Basketball and Volleyball programs, among others. In 2019, after returning to Arkansas following a stint in in Alabama, she served as a Senior Event Sales Manager for the Little Rock Marriott and later became the Assistant Manager for the Little Rock Marathon. Dixon later returned to Trojan Athletics as the Assistant Athletics Director for Communications, working with Men’s Basketball, Cross Country and Track & Field, while overseeing all media focused efforts.
Henkell has served as the UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law’s Development Director for the past two years. Henkell orchestrated major gift fundraising efforts and managed the planning and execution of Bowen’s 2024 Distinguished Alumni Awards. He was a pitcher and co-captain for the Gordon (Mass.) College baseball team and graduated magna cum laude in 2019. He then enrolled in the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, where he was the Sports and Entertainment Law Association President in 2020-21 and earned his Juris Doctorate in 2022.
Olson is a recognizable name among sports fans in Arkansas. Since 1998, he has worked at newspapers, magazines and websites covering prep and college sports. He has also been a fixture on statewide radio and television, most notably analyzing high school football for a host of outlets. He also has six years of corporate communications experience, resumed his full-time sports journalism career in 2021 when he became a Regional Editor for SBLive Sports, a digital high school sports media company that later became a content partner of Sports Illustrated.