Family establishes Jack Brittain Jr. Memorial Scholarship

NATCHITOCHES – The family of N-Club Hall of Fame Distinguished Service Award winner Jack Brittain Jr. has established a scholarship in memory of the former Demon football player and Natchitoches legend.

The Jack Brittain Jr. Memorial Scholarship will benefit a Northwestern State female student-athlete and is named after Brittain, a Demon football player from 1974-78, who worked tirelessly to promote the university and its athletic program once his playing career ended.

A prominent supporter of all things Northwestern State and Natchitoches, Brittain died Tuesday at 67 after a brief illness. A multi-sport standout at St. Mary’s Catholic School, Brittain excelled in basketball, track and field and football – ultimately deciding to follow the college football footsteps of his father, Jack Sr., who played running back at Louisiana Tech in the late 1940s.

“Jack was synonymous with Northwestern State and Natchitoches, and there can be no better way to celebrate what he meant to our department than what his family has done by establishing the Jack Brittain Jr. Memorial Scholarship,” Director of Athletics Kevin Bostian said. “Jack’s legacy of service to Northwestern State as whole – and the athletic department in particular – will continue with the addition of this scholarship and the deserving student-athlete who receives it. Although he played football, Jack’s support ran through the entire Northwestern State athletic department. Endowing this scholarship to benefit a female student-athlete is a fitting way to remember Jack.”

Donations to the Jack Brittain Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund are open and can be made by clicking here or texting NSUJACK to 71777 and following the prompts.

Upon reaching the $10,000 mark, the Jack Brittain Jr. Memorial Scholarship will join the list of fully endowed Northwestern State athletic scholarships, which are part of NSU’s “Perpetually Purple” program. The goal of the program is to grow the Demons Unlimited Foundation endowment from its current level of nearly $3 million to more than $5 million.

“Perpetually Purple” also aims to allow NSU to provide a sustainable source of scholarship funding separate from efforts to supplement the annual athletics program budget with donations, corporate partnerships and special fund-raising events.

A minimum commitment of $10,000 is required to create an endowment fund, but that fund can start from any initial outright gift.

Endowments can be established with an outright gift such as cash, stock transfers or property sales, a life insurance policy, or can be included as a provision in a will or a bequest.

Arrangements can be made to fund an endowment across an extended period of time.