A Card That Carries a Promise
Ashley Cornwell, a coach at the University of Northern Colorado, keeps a football card of her late mentor Gary Brown in her pocket, a tangible reminder of the man who shaped her path.
Brown, an eight‑year NFL veteran and former Wisconsin running backs coach, died of cancer in 2022, but his voice still echoes in Cornwell’s daily decisions.
He urged her to “pay it forward,” a charge that now fuels her work mentoring players and building programs across the college ranks.
From Classroom to Sideline
While completing a bachelor’s degree in political science and international studies, Cornwell seized her first collegiate coaching role at Wisconsin, a turning point that launched a journey through stops at Oberlin, Bucknell, Central State and finally Northern Colorado.
Her coaching résumé also includes prestigious platforms such as the NFL Women’s Forum in 2022 and 2023, Bill Walsh Fellowships with the Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Commanders, and a spot in the NCAA Champions Forum.
In 2024 she earned a place in the Buccaneers Coaching Academy and presented at the American Football Coaches Association convention on offensive line pass‑protection techniques, with a 2025 speaking slot lined up at the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches.
Through each milestone, Cornwell attributes her progress to the lesson Brown instilled: honor the game by lifting others, a principle she lives out on and off the field.