Hawk Stadium to be renamed Brian Brazil Stadium

The Hawk Stadium will be renamed “Brian Brazil Stadium” in honor of former football head coach Brian Brazil, who held the position from the school’s opening in 1999 until his retirement in 2022. This change was announced at a school board meeting on April 17, and will be in effect starting next school year. The renaming will be honored in a community celebration during the first football game of the 2023-24 season.

At the end of the last school year, Brazil was offered the position as senior athletic director at Prestonwood Christian Academy. He then retired from coaching at Hebron to begin the new position this fall. During his time at Hebron, Brazil’s leadership led the school to a state championship in 2005 and an overall record of 152-97.

“They had a really tremendous winning record in all the seasons he had,” principal Amy Boughton said. “He laid the foundation for [the] athletic culture of success here at Hebron.” 

Shortly after announcing his retirement, Boughton proposed the idea of renaming the Hawk Stadium in honor of Brazil to the school board last summer. However, there were certain qualifications that Brazil did not meet in order to have a facility at Hebron renamed after him – that was until he was diagnosed with upper tract urothelial cancer last fall. 

“Typically, the person has to be retired for eight years or deceased, but coach Brazil is neither one of those, so we had to wait [to rename the stadium],” Boughton said. “Then, we found out that he had a cancer diagnosis in the fall, and he is still in a battle with that diagnosis. Several teachers and I went back and wrote letters to the school board asking if they would reconsider the protocols if somebody had cancer — they said yes, so we went ahead and pushed through.”

Upon hearing the announcement, Brazil said he was extremely grateful toward Boughton and faculty members who wrote a letter on behalf of him to push for the renaming to be approved. Some notable staff members that signed on the letter were the remaining founding teachers – Donna Friend, Karin Keeney and Steve Stone.

“I was calm about it, but I teared up,” Brazil said. “It’s just not something you ever expect or something you put down on your goals. I got into coaching because I love teaching kids [and] helping them reach their dreams and goals. It meant a lot because then I started thinking about all the coaches and players during my years at Hebron that helped make Hebron a special place.”

Brazil’s son, David Brazil, currently works as a coach at Hebron in the ninth grade center. David was raised in the district, having attended Homestead Elementary, Arbor Creek Middle School and, later, Hebron. David said his family and he were shocked to learn about the proposal, but grateful to Boughton and all who pushed for it.

“The school board president called me on the 14th [of April] and made me aware of it, then I immediately called my dad and we were just so excited,” David said. “[During] his time here at Hebron, he never expected anything from the community, the fact that he is getting something that is such a great honor, it’s such a blessing.”