William J. "Bill" Brooks (born in Wilson, North Carolina

Wilson, North Carolina

Wilson is a city and the county seat of Wilson County in the Coastal Plain region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The 18th largest city in the state, Wilson had a population of 49,167 according to the 2010 census.- Geography :...

) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and former baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 and basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 coach who is best known for developing the University of North Carolina at Wilmington

University of North Carolina at Wilmington

The University of North Carolina at Wilmington, sometimes referred to as UNC Wilmington, is a public, co-educational university located in Wilmington, North Carolina...

 athletics program from a junior college

Junior college

The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...

 to a Division I school. Brooks graduated with an AB

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 from Atlantic Christian College

Barton College

Barton College is a private liberal arts college located in Wilson, North Carolina. Barton College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, The NC Association of Colleges and Universities; the NC Department of Public Instruction; the NC Board of Nursing; and the Committee...

 in 1948. In 1951 he was hired by Wilimgton College (now UNCW) hired Brooks as their athletic director

Athletic director

An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...

, basketball coach, baseball coach and chairman of the health and physical education department. He directed the baseball team to a pair of national junior college baseball championships in 1961 and 1963 and also took the basketball team to the national tournament.

In 1975, he was named NAIA

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...

 National Coach-of-the-Year and was inducted into the National Junior College Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1990. Brooks became the first individual associated with UNC Wilmington to be inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1991.