Community college sports programs

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Footer Navigation. About MCCC. Emergency Alerts. Website Updates. Contact Us. Text to Speech. Privacy Policy. Log In. Social Navigation. According to the article, more than 40 other community colleges have joined the NJCAA since , which currently has 16 members in North Carolina. Our bookstore manager will tell you that he cannot keep our sports paraphernalia in stock.

Another supporter of sports programs is Robert C. Some community colleges go so far as to recruit students from around the country and even internationally in order to do well in national championships. Under North Carolina law, community colleges are not allowed to spend funds from state appropriations on athletics, so Guilford pays for them for out of student fees, bookstore revenues, and donations.

The student fees, bookstore revenues and donations could be used for other purposes. Is it really the case that the expenses associated with fielding competitive sports teams equipment, travel, compensation for coaches and so on are the best use of funds?

If we have to choose between having a baseball team whose successes might make some or perhaps even most of the students feel good for a while and spending more money to improve teaching and learning, which way should we go?

That question seems to answer itself, so the real question would be if there are ways that community colleges could spend their funds that would improve teaching and learning.

Sports are educational in the best sense of that word because they teach the participant and the observer new truths about testing oneself and others, about the enduring values of challenge and response, about teamwork, about discipline and perseverance. Above all, intercollegiate contests — at any level of skill — drive home a fundamental lesson: goals worth achieving will be attained only through effort, hard work and sacrifice, and sometimes even those will not be enough to overcome the obstacles life places in our path.

Over the past few years, studies have been conducted concerning the role of intercollegiate athletics in the context of four-year institutions. These studies called into question whether athletics actually have the positive impact that proponents intend, such as encouraging school spirit, assisting in recruitment and enrollment, or supporting the mission of higher education in general.

In contrast, little research has been done on the role of athletics in community college education. Moreover, it is not clear whether the conclusions of the studies on four-year institutions apply in the context of two-year colleges, given their differing student bodies, educational missions, and relationships to the community. Certainly, well-known criticisms leveled at NCAA Division I football and basketball programs do not have any counterparts in the community college context.

While community college teams may seek corporate sponsorships, the commercialization and lack of balance surrounding some NCAA teams are not present at community colleges. A study questioned community college presidents and chairpersons of boards of trustees in six states to determine the extent of their knowledge and understanding of athletics at their colleges.

The leaders who participated agreed that athletic competition promotes pride in the institution among students, faculty, staff, and the community in general.

Those surveyed admitted that they had little knowledge about the funding of athletic programs or the procedures for starting new programs. There was no consensus, however, on whether intercollegiate athletics contributes to the accomplishment of the colleges' educational mission.

The study concluded that the leadership of community colleges may not have sufficient data to make informed decisions about whether to expand, contract, or terminate existing programs or to begin new programs.

The trend in community college athletics is moving toward more, rather that less, intercollegiate athletics. Placed in its best light, intercollegiate competition that encourages personal development is an integral part of a student's overall educational experience.

Sports programs may also attract more students to a community college and enhance pride in the college both on campus and within the community.