Greyhounds Lead NJCAA Division II in Attendance

In only our fourth year of intercollegiate athletics, our men’s basketball program has climbed to the top. No, we’re not the No. 1-ranked team in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II poll (yet), but we ARE No. 1 in average home attendance. With an average of 326 fans per game, we rank first among 126 teams in Division II that have reported their figures to the NJCAA. And our program has also outdrawn all but six of the Division I schools (including Southwest Tennessee Community College which is playing five NCAA Division I signees). I don’t care who you are, that’s pretty cool.

The Greyhounds enter Saturday’s showdown with the North Arkansas College Pioneers with a 7-5 record which includes a pair of victories over Division I programs (St. Louis Community College and Northwest Mississippi Community College). Those are schools that don’t expect to get beat by a Division II team in West Memphis, Ark., because they’re not familiar with the caliber of student-athletes we have recruited to our campus. Our team is among the top 25 in points per game 21st), field goals per game (15th), field goal percentage (20th), free throw percentage (23rd), assists per game (15th), and steals per game (17th). The Greyhounds are an exciting bunch to watch, and I encourage you to see one of their games.

Our women rank fifth among 129 teams in Division II with an average of 113 fans per game. Scottsdale Community College of Arizona leads the way with 159, so we’re not all that far from No. 1. Marshalltown Community College of Iowa ranks No. 4 with an average of 124 fans a game, so with a good crowd on Saturday, we could conceivably climb past the Lady Tigers in the attendance rankings.

The women have been playing in hard luck and are 3-9. Three of those losses came by a total of six points, so the Lady Greyhounds could easily be above the .500 mark with a couple of better bounces. They are among the top 20 teams in the division in free throw attempts per game (8th), free throws made per game (4th), and blocks per game (17th).

Our men and women are doing a great job on the court, but more importantly, they’re great young men and women off the court. They are excellent representatives of our institution, and certainly in every one of their cases, the opportunities that we are creating for them in intercollegiate athletics are putting them in a position to change the rest of their life. You can’t put a price on that.

Another feather in our collective cap is the academic success of our student-athletes. Every player on our men’s women’s and women’s team who participated last fall secured academic eligibility for the spring semester. I can tell you that is not the norm, particularly in Division II athletics. That’s a testament to the fact that we’re not doing this like everybody else. We’re doing it with the right reasons in mind, and our players understand what we expect of them.

We also expect a lot from our fans, and we need your support on Saturday as we square off against our chief Region 2 rival. Northark’s program dates back to the 1970’s, its current coach (Jerry Thomason) is in his 25th year with the Pioneers. NAC has earned eight consecutive regional championships, so the Pioneers obviously have the tradition advantage. But they’ve never played us in the Dog House, and we’re counting on you to help us turn the tide. - See more at: http://www.midsouthcc.edu/blog/greyhounds-lead-njcaa-division-ii-in-attendance/#sthash.ZLNuQJpl.dpuf