UNLV SOFTBALL ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Brittany Meade (2005-09), Associate Director, Event Operations, Arizona Athletics

UNLV softball continues its new alumni spotlight series, highlighting former Rebels that built the foundation of the UNLV softball program.

Even though Nevada and Arizona share a border, former Rebel standout infielder Brittany Meade admits she hadn't really heard of UNLV growing up in Tucson. She didn't initially know of the storied history in the 1990s, the seven straight NCAA tournament appearances or the three appearances in the Women's College World Series. It wasn't until she happened to be playing in a tournament in Las Vegas and her dad mentioned UNLV.

"It's kind of funny, it was really by chance. We were playing in a tournament in Las Vegas and my dad said, hey Britt, what about UNLV? And I was like what is UNLV? I had never heard of it. Oddly enough through the recruiting experience, I connected with Lonni [Alameda] and the relationship grew. From that point, UNLV kept popping up in the process, felt like it kind of randomly just kept coming up in my face, so it felt like fate. The more I learned and with Lonni coming in, she was really selling building a program and setting the foundation. She had come from Stanford and she was a first-time head coach and I wanted to be part of that, putting the bricks down and getting us back in the direction towards a WCWS. So for me it really was wanting to be part of building the program again."

Meade may not have reached the Women's College World Series during her career, but she did help the Rebels accomplish the goal of turning the program in the right direction as UNLV reached its first NCAA regional in a decade during her freshman season in 2005. In fact, due to an injury that kept her out of the 2006 season, Meade had the opportunity to be a part of the program's last two NCAA tournament teams - the 2005 squad and the 2009 team - during her five years with UNLV softball.

Meade was part of that freshman class in 2005 that came to UNLV with the same mindset she had of rebuilding the program, but none of them could have imagined they'd reach a regional in their first year.

"We all came in a bunch of freshmen - a large group of freshmen and we were obviously coming out of a very competitive travel ball. Then we had a large group of seniors that also helped lead the way. For us, it was a very exciting experience and it was quite the freshmen group. We didn't know what we were fighting for, truly, until you get there and experienced it and saw how large of a platform it is. It was just an unbelievable experience to be a part of it and realize hey, everything that we are working towards here, it's right here. Coming from a mid major, sometimes the respect factor is not there. But in our minds, it didn't matter who was in the dugout across from us, we always talked about the name on the front of the jersey and that's what we're fighting for and fighting for each other. So it was a pretty special experience in 2005. That kind of set the tone like wow, our freshman year, we're here we can do this and in our minds that was the starting point for our program. Unfortunately, the following year we had faced a ton of injuries and basically all of our starting lineup ended up on the bench, so we went down a little bit of a wave experience, but I think to start that way my freshman year it pretty much did pave the path for where we were headed."

While many of her 2005 teammates were gone and graduated during her fifth year in 2009, Meade's chance to go back to the NCAA postseason in 2009 made her appreciate the process it takes to try and get back there each year. 

"In 2005 we set the tone, this is what we're doing and you think oh, why don't we do it every year? Those are your expectations - the expectations were set very, very high. Everyone thinks you're used to winning, but winning just doesn't always happen. Even though you're really, really good and talented, sometimes it doesn't fall in your favor and you can be plagued with injuries. So it was a process for us to get back, but because we set the tone our freshman year, 2009 for me was a rewarding experience to end my career that way on a high note and be able to say this is what we're fighting for. We did it, we're back. Obviously, you want to continue forward and go beyond regionals, make super regionals and continue your postseason stretch, but regardless, to get there was a pretty incredible feat." 

Like many of the alums that played under Alameda - who has had an outstanding career at Florida State since leaving UNLV -  Meade praises her for creating the culture that really made the Rebels' success during her time there possible. 

"She was definitely the biggest reason for me coming to UNLV and it was all about building the relationships right from the get go. I realized it was a special place to be and that my coaching staff - not only Coach, but Angel Santiago and Sarah Pickering were part of that. It was the family atmosphere and for them it was building something beyond just show up and play ball, it was a life experience where they said hey we want to provide you a whole experience, so it was incredibly special playing for them and it starts with them - they are special people and it was a special program. So it kind of pushed us to learn that we've got to be special people too, that it's not just about the field. It's all the life experience beyond that, for them. For me, my biggest experience that I look away from it is the sense of community and you have that family not only at UNLV, but beyond Las Vegas. Overall I learned a ton from them and I still carry it forward to this day. Being a part of that softball community for me, it's fun to look back at my experience and realize hey, I went through that with them and now I can carry that forward and pass it along to some of our current student-athletes (at Arizona)."

Meade took Alameda's lessons about life experience beyond the field to heart as she served on the UNLV Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for five years, including two years each as the vice president and president. She also represented UNLV on the Mountain West Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for three years, was a four-time Mountain West All-Academic selection and was involved in many community service projects, including at Sunrise Children's Cancer Hospital and Las Vegas Childhaven. On the field, Meade had a standout career that included a Mountain West First Team All-Conference honor and All-West Region award in 2005.

While it was a bummer for Meade to miss the 2006 season due to injury, the additional year and the opportunities she had at UNLV over her five years were significant in shaping her professional path post-playing career.

"I originally was thinking that I was going to go into health sciences - my degree is in kinesiology and I thought I was going to be a physical therapist. My freshman year I had a back injury, so by my sophomore year I had redshirted and after all the rehab and being on my own, by my junior year I realized I didn't want to do physical therapy anymore. So this goes back to the support from UNLV, I mean everyone from our administrators down to our grounds crew was so supportive. So I had the opportunities to be a part of SAAC and attend a couple of different NCAA leadership conventions and it really kind of garnered my interest and I thought there could be something to working in college athletics. Since I had graduated in 2008 but had another year of eligibility, I decided to pursue my master's degree and the opportunity for sports administration leadership and I thought, I really want to continue exploring that. So in my last year while I was in grad school I realized this was the path I definitely wanted to pursue. Game operations needed a graduate assistant and I had done an earlier internship with the SWA and that carried over and they gave me a chance to be the GA. After graduation, the athletic director had an administrative assistant position open and I was there for about three years. It was an unbelievable experience as far as learning behind the scenes on the administrative level, some insight stuff that you don't know about as a student athlete. It opened my eyes to how much behind the scenes things happen, how much people are a part of it and that it takes a lot of people just to make one game happen. I realized that [staying in athletics] is my opportunity to give back for my student-athlete experience - to be able to provide that to others. I truly enjoyed the administrative level, but I at the same time realized I wanted to get my feet back on the ground, kind of be in the grind a little bit. Being born and raised in Tucson, when an opportunity popped up for me to head home on the event management side I took it. Now I'm currently the Associate Director of event management, so I work with women's basketball, softball and our football team."

Meade's favorite part of still being able to work in college athletics goes back to the very basis of Alameda's program culture - relationships.

"It still goes back to the relationships. Now I sit back and realize how many connections and how many people across the country - all different levels, from administrators, to coaches, to student-athletes - that branched away, it's still having those relationships nationwide and being able to reach out and watch so many people succeed. The fun part has been watching my teammates expand to life beyond college athletics, some are doctors, some are nurses, some went to the police academy. So it really is that you look across the relationships and it you look back on the memories that those brought. It's all about the experience that I had, it was such a positive experience that I want to be able to provide that for our student-athletes now at Arizona. So it truly is about giving back and I feel fortunate to be able to work with student-athletes everyday."

Beyond just the opportunities her time at UNLV provided her, Meade credits the life lessons she learned and her experience at UNLV for allowing her to be successful in her professional career.

"I learned a lot. My experience was truly based on being a good person. I learned that it's important not only on the field, but off the field and how it transfers into your life and how important just being a good person is. Then there's adversity and being able to handle adversity. For me, I faced an injury my freshman year and I wasn't sure if I was going to continue to be able to play. But the amount of support from everybody to get me back on the field and the belief that I had allowed that to happen. I look back and l'll never forget Coach, one of the things that she told me was - hey, I understand that you may not have 100%, but I need 50% of your 100% I need 80%, whatever you have that day, I need it, I need you to contribute to our team and give it whatever you have, so that made me realize right there that it's not about me. It's got to be selfless and be about my team and I needed to go out there and be a leader and now I still carry that forward. If I don't feel well showing up for a four-day tournament, bottom line is you have to show up and put your best foot forward with what you have."

The memories are what seem to resonate most with alums and Meade is no different as a smile crosses her face when asked for her favorite ones.

"Some of my favorite memories to look back on are just some of the games that we won, it was such a fun experience. There was a game I remember specifically against Washington my freshman year, we ended up winning that game and it was a big, big win for us because they were in the top 25. But I remember it was our approach. Coach Santiago was like, hey, you know, I understand it's exciting, let's celebrate a little bit but also act like you've been there. So I remember that it was a moment for us where we were bringing it up to their level because it was Washington and they are in the Pac-12 and you want to think of yourself in that manner. So it was a super memorable moment. So just going back to the winning, we had so many different, exciting wins and you can look at that success we had on the field. But I think our favorite memories honestly are just traveling with your team and bonding. Some of those experiences, the community service and other off the field things, just the time we spent together and that's what I truly miss. I miss that team atmosphere. I have a little bit of that here at Arizona because I work with the softball program, but with my own teammates that was something that I'll never forget, those experiences that we had together."

Meade is part of a group of alumni that was able to pursue professional careers in college athletics, which includes former teammates Maggie Huffaker (Livreri) and Kendall Fearne - Huffaker the head coach at Boise State and Fearne the associate coach at Indiana. So what is it like to see them and other alums being successful in college sports, particularly in the Division I coaching ranks?

"It's pretty, pretty wild. You look back from Maggie at Boise State to Kendall Fern at Indiana and on the administrative level with Marissa (Nichols) at Cal, there's a handful of people spread across the country and it's just very rewarding to see them having the success they are having. It's fun to watch them go from being a student-athlete, knowing them then, to growing up and continuing what we learned at UNLV and carrying that on and still having those connections. And that's been the most rewarding part to me about being college athletics, just those connections and relationships."

Now 12 years removed from her playing career, Meade finds enjoyment following the current squad and seeing the success they've been able to have under fourth-year head coach Kristie Fox.

"It's really awesome Kristie is there, I think they found somebody that's definitely going to continue to build the program. You can already see it, just the structure and the kids they have - I've been around for a couple of alumni games and they were all great, the way the kids handled themselves. And now you're seeing that success transition to the field. So it's rewarding, knowing that, hey, your program is going to have ups and downs, but now you are really starting to feel that she is building something special. Las Vegas is not necessarily the easiest place to get kids to come through and it takes a special group of kids to be there. She's finding them and I'm excited for them and to see what happens over the next few years."