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Former WIU Football coach Brodie Westen spent four decades in Macomb and is a member of the WIU Athletics Hall of Fame
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Weston and former WIU football player Steve Nelson.
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A snapshot of where some of our Westen Graduate Assistant alumni and current recipients are making an impact now.
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A Decade of Impact: Westen Endowment Turns 10

October 1, 2025

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From the pages of the Summer 2025 Western Illinois University Alumni Magazine—this story is part of our special series of feature articles. View the full issue at wiu.edu/alumni/Western_News.php.

MACOMB, IL - - In 1971, a WIU Football legacy began in Macomb that has lasted more than half a century. That was the year Coach Brodie Westen, along with his wife, Jane, moved from Champaign, IL, to begin his Leatherneck coaching career.

Westen's journey to Macomb started in Marquette, MI, and included stints in the U.S. Navy, serving on the U.S.S. Juneau during the Korean War, two stops coaching at the University of Illinois, and four years coaching at Rockford West High School.

The Westens moved to Macomb in 1971, where Brodie became head coach in 1974. In 1975, Westen was voted Illinois Coach of the Year, after leading the Leathernecks to a 12-7-1 record over two the previous two seasons. Westen was inducted into the Rockford Sports Hall of Fame in 1964 and the WIU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992.

The Westens spent four decades in Macomb, raising their family and remaining involved in the WIU community. Leatherneck blood runs deep in the Westen family. Brodie and Jane raised seven children, five of whom attended WIU. Three of their sons, Curt `82 MBA `83, Rich `91 and Joe went on to play on Hanson Field during their time as Leathernecks.

During his time on the team, Curt played with Jay Heubner `82. Curt went on to marry Jay's sister, Sue. Sue and Jay's brother, Lee `84, and their parents also all attended WIU. The summer after Brodie became the WIU head coach, a future athletic administrator attended the Brodie Westen Football Camp.

"Coach Westen's impact on me, as a high school football player, was significant. When I had the opportunity to attend the Brodie Westen Football Camp in the summer of 1974, it resulted in making me a better quarterback but also opened my eyes up to being a better person," WIU Director of Athletics Paul Bubb said. "Coach Westen and his staff talked and practiced being competitive, but also focused on sportsmanship."

Brodie Westen was known as a coach who had close connections to his players, many of whom he stayed in contact with over the years. The branches of his coaching tree reach far and wide, with Westen having coached a number of successful athletes and businessmen. One of those Westen-era football alumni, Steve Nelson `77, was inspired to create an endowment at WIU to cement the Westen family's legacy with Leatherneck Athletics forever to honor and to thank the man who provided the direction and opportunity that served as the basis for a successful career and life after football.

"The journey to establish this scholarship began in 1973, when I was recruited to WIU," Nelson said. "Coach Brodie played an integral role not only in coaching me on the field but also in guiding me off the field. His mentorship extended beyond Athletics; Coach Brodie introduced me to influential alumni within the business sector, which greatly impacted my academic and professional trajectory."

Nelson, along with other leadership donors including former players John Passananti `75, Charlie Carey `75 and Mike Drymiller `73 MS `77, endowed the fund in 2014. At its creation, the Westen Endowment Fund was the first private scholarship endowment fund specifically for WIU Athletics. Since the establishment of the fund, multiple other players and Westen family members have contributed to the endowment.

"Coach Brodie always credited his days as a graduate assistant as instrumental to his coaching career and his life. In fact, he and Jane met, got married, and started our family while he was a football graduate assistant at the University of Illinois," Curt said. "The Westen family is proud and honored to support the endowment to aid graduate assistants beginning their careers as Brodie once did."

Since its inception a decade ago, the Coach Brodie and Jane Westen Graduate Assistant Endowment has funded 15 graduate assistant coaches for the Leatherneck football program, providing each with invaluable experience working with an NCAA Division I football program.

"We all hope that the GA endowment gives a young coach the opportunity to achieve a great coaching career and wonderful life just as Coach Brodie and Jane did," Nelson said.

This endowment provides a full-circle moment for WIU Athletics and for Bubb.

"The Brodie Westen Football Camp, much like the endowment that is now in place, gave a young student-athlete the opportunity to grow in his sport but also the ability to appreciate the life lessons we learn each day through the game—teamwork, developing leadership skills, determination to finish and finish strong, and building relationships that will last a lifetime. These graduate assistantships allow people the opportunity to both teach and experience these same qualities," Bubb said.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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