Marci Henry honored as Sterling athletics icon after decades at NJC

Marci Henry’s retirement as Northeastern Junior College athletic director in May 2026 closed one chapter in Sterling, but it did not end her role in the college’s sports identity. NJC still lists Henry as head beach volleyball coach, and its 2026-27 catalog now includes beach volleyball among 11 NJCAA Division I varsity sports.

Henry’s local impact stretches back to 1999, when she began running the Plainswomen volleyball program before taking over as NJC’s athletic director in 2010. Over that span, she coached teams to Region IX championships, NJCAA National Tournament appearances and numerous All-American, All-Region and academic honors. Her 2003 squad won the Region IX championship and finished 11th nationally, one of the clearest markers of how far NJC volleyball had climbed under her leadership.

That record matters in Sterling because NJC is one of the town’s most visible institutions. The college says it serves about 900 full-time students and more than 2,000 part-time students, with residence halls for more than 575. On its athletics page, NJC calls the Plainsmen and Plainswomen the pride of Northeastern Colorado, and Henry spent more than two decades helping turn that slogan into something measurable on courts, mats and in the classroom.

Her influence also reached well beyond Logan County. The National Junior College Athletic Association’s 2024-25 committee assignments named Henry chair of the wrestling committee, and the NJCAA Board of Regents directory lists her as the Region 9 representative. In a February 21, 2022 NJC athletics release, Henry described a wrestling team’s postseason results as “fantastic,” a brief comment that reflected the same broad commitment she showed across sports programs.

Henry’s continued presence as head beach volleyball coach makes the transition at NJC look less like a departure than a handoff. Sterling’s athletic history now includes a coach-administrator who helped build championships, guide athletes to national stages and strengthen the college’s standing inside both the NJCAA and the community it serves.