Boyce DeVance “BJ” Little, Jr., was a standout player on the Missouri Valley College football team during his time with the program in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.  BJ made an instant impact on the team as a freshman on the 1989 conference championship team, and was voted as the team’s Freshman of the Year after a postseason quarterfinal appearance.  In 1991, BJ was selected as an all-conference honorable mention while playing for the number one ranked defense in the nation, then followed with a Heart of America Athletic Conference All-Conference First Team selection in 1992.  That same season he was named the team’s Defensive Player of the Year and the team’s Most Valuable Player.  He also earned NAIA All-American honors.  Following his collegiate playing career, BJ was drafted in 1994 by the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

 

BJ’s professional working career started with the Navajo County Probation Department in Arizona as an Adult Probation Officer and Supervisor.  In 2014 BJ made history in Arizona when he was elected the first African-American Magistrate and Justice of the Peace judge for Winslow, Ariz., and Northern Arizona.  In 2020, he was elected as the Navajo County Presiding Justice of the Peace.  BJ also stayed close to athletics, with a 25-year career coaching at Winslow (Ariz.) High School, which included 22 years as a defensive coordinator and three years as head coach of the program.  He also created a support group called Father’s of Student Athletes to help share experiences on the highs and lows of being a coach and a dad.

 

BJ credits his coach, Greg Purdum, James Booker, Michael Coats and Marsha Lashley as people who impacted him greatly during his time at Missouri Valley College.