August 22, 2005
NEWST-Bird athletics win recognition for last year’s accomplishments
While most of us were enjoying the summer and keeping school the farthest thing from our minds, many here at Mesa Community College, especially in the athletic department, were still hard-at-work, focusing on the upcoming year.
However, they were already reaping the benefits of last year, when MCC was awarded the 2004-2005 Pepsi/ NATYCAA Award for Program Excellence in Two-Year College Athletics.
Awarding overall excellence, points were given based on the level of success each team at each school.
The teams were given points for winning seasons, winning their respective regions, and wins in the regional and national tournaments. The MCC teams won 64 percent of their games in dual competition, and 12 out of 16 of the teams were not only successful in their regional tournaments but qualified for the national tournaments as well.
A few of the successful teams were the women’s soccer team, which finished its season with a record of 20 wins, five losses and ranked nationally at No. 6; the women’s golf team, which started the season by winning numerous tournaments; the ever-consistent baseball team, which made it deep into postseason play once again; and the track teams, which were well-represented by qualifying eight individuals and one relay team for the NJCAA National Championships.
Pepsi-Cola North America, along with the NATYCAA, also will donate $2,500 to the general scholarship fund of the college for placing first. MCC, which placed third in the same competition the previous year, will hold bragging-rights as the top overall athletic program of the nation while also catching attention from big-time recruits.
Any community colleges with athletics, from MCC to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, were eligible for this award, with the total number of eligible schools coming to 505 in 24 NJCAA regions.
Proud and pleased, the president of MCC, Larry K. Christiansen, said, “To have our athletic program designated the best in the country among two-year colleges in our classification is indeed a tremendous honor and appropriate recognition of our coaches and student-athletes.”
One of those coaches, football coach Dan Dunn, played an immense role in leading MCC to this award, as he is also the athletic director.
He gave credit to all involved, including the nine All-Americans, four Academic All-Americans and four coaches who received postseason Coach-of-the-Year recognition in their respective sports. Last year was also Dunn’s first full year as athletic director.
Along with achieving success and acclaim come expectations and the demand for improvement. This includes the challenge coming from having every other school gunning for the top sports program in the country. The hard work put in by teams this summer will ensure them that they are ready to meet that challenge.