C.A. Fawcett was a loan officer at Fort Smith’s First National Bank, but Westark College players probably best remember their most diehard fan for his skills as a chef.
Fawcett loved to cook hamburgers – sometimes upwards of 500 hamburgers – for student-athletes, coaches and athletic department staff, so much so that the college eventually built him his own specially-designed grill. It was just one of the many ways Fawcett supported an athletic program he had grown to love over the years.
A native of Beebe, Ark., Fawcett played against future Lions men’s basketball coach Gayle Kaundart during his prep basketball days – Fawcett playing for the Badgers and Kaundart for the Alma Airedales. The two became close friends during Kaundart’s days as boys basketball coach at Fort Smith’s Northside High School.
Fawcett created the booster club at Northside and, at the request of then Westark president Shelby Breedlove, created Westark’s first athletics booster club – the Century Club – in 1974. The Century Club provided support for the athletics program through its membership fee, which initially was $100.
A former college athlete himself, Fawcett, who played football one season at the University of Arkansas, enjoyed being around coaches and players, rarely missed an out of town game, and loved attending the NJCAA national tournament in Hutchinson, Kan. His goal was to see Westark become one of the premiere junior college athletic programs in the nation, a goal accomplished due largely to Fawcett’s tireless efforts as a loyal friend of the program.
With Fawcett’s guidance as a leader and a fundraiser, the Century Club purchased a home that would first serve as a place to feed basketball and baseball players, and later as a residence for the women’s basketball team. That project was just one of the many undertaken by the Century Club over the years in its effort to help the program.
Since its founding, the Century Club has evolved into the Regulus Club and now the UA Fort Smith Lions Athletic Club. Fawcett’s memory lives on through the C.A. Fawcett Award, which is awarded to the Athletic Club Member of the Year.
