“Newcoming” Acceptance: Former East athletic director and advocate for women in sports Dr. Art Newcomer passed away on Oct. 26

After her team won the cross country state championship in 1984, former East student and cross country coach Tricia Beaham looked over to see Dr. Art Newcomer cheering for the East team on the sidelines. She looks back on her time in high school now and treasures seeing his beaming smile at every athletic event she could remember.

Newcomer was the first athletic director at East from 1965 to 1995, and according to Beaham, he was one of the most impactful figures in the entire sports program because he expanded the girl’s athletic program. 

Helping to equalize women’s athletics by adding sports that hadn’t yet been incorporated at East including girls soccer and additional track and field events was the main focus of Newcomer. He founded the All-Sports Booster Club in 1968 and was one of the 13 people who founded the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrator Association, which recognizes outstanding athletic directors.

“He was an incredible athletic director, a huge advocate for every sport, not just a particular sport that he was fond of,” Beaham said. “[He got] along very well with parents, other coaches, administration and also outside our own school with all the other athletic directors.”

Newcomer added new sports to East based on what the Prairie Village community wanted. When he first started, there were only six sports across men and women’s programs, and when he left that number drastically increased to 22 different sports between girls and boys. 

Carrie Fotopoulos Barnthouse was the undefeated girls’ tennis champion during her high school career from 1971-1975 and the varsity girls cheer team captain. The addition of these new sports wasn’t just a huge step for East, but it had an extreme impact on the athletes of that time and years to come, according to Fotopoulos.

“He was really respectful of womens sports, very beyond accepting he just treated us like he would any athlete, and in a really good way,” Fotopoulos Barnthouse. “He encouraged us, he supported us, he always spoke highly of all his athletes and just really encouraging.”

Athletes especially, Newcomer made an effort to create personal connections with students. Newcomer wrote Fotopolous a special note in her yearbook when she graduated telling her what a kind student and tennis player she was and that she always brought positive energy to her athletic events.

Additionally, many female athletes felt more recognized by the athletic department for years to come, according to Sarah Bingham, an East alumni who graduated in 2021. 

Bingham participated in volleyball, basketball and track throughout her high school career, and she felt like there were many improvements made to the program. 

“We upgraded from playing the short direction in the main gym to the full court [length], and the volleyball games too,” said Bingham. “In girls basketball the leaderboard was added. The new one was added while I was there. There was a lot of systematic attention that was brought to it too, which made me feel good as an athlete, to be seen and appreciated like that.”

Newcomer made it his mission to expand the girls sports program even though it took years to add girls soccer because of state and federal requirements, according to Beaham.

When Newcomer left, he was the first inductee to the Hall of Fame at East. There was also a scholarship award named after to honor one senior boy and one senior girl who excelled as a student-athlete during their high school career. In years to come, he was known as one of the most kindhearted and approachable staff members at East, according to Former East teacher Brenda Fishman.

After Newcomer made his impact at East and retired, he continued attending all East sporting events and stayed active in the community until his death on Oct. 26.

“He was very accessible,” Fishman said. “His office was in the main office, and the door was always open. You could always come in and talk to him. He was very personable and very friendly. He really was very dedicated to students at Shawnee Mission East. He wanted to give kids as many opportunities as possible to take part in athletics or in activities.”