Where I Stand -- Dr. Richard Moore: CCSN roots for Coyotes

Editor's note: In August, Where I Stand is written by guest columnists. Dr. Richard Moore has been president of the Community College of Southern Nevada since October 1994. Committed to making education as accessible as possible, Dr. Moore writes about the college's new sports program and how it will enable local high school graduates who are athletes to attend school here instead of out of state. ASK ANY ONE of the more than 30,000 students taking classes at the Community College of Southern Nevada's three campuses and extensive outlying locations in four counties why they are at CCSN and you will get a seemingly endless variety of responses.

Here are some common ones: "To become a dental hygienist," "to get ahead at work," "to learn English as a second language," "because I've always wanted to act in a play," "to get a head start on college classes while I'm still in high school," "to save money before transferring to a four-year school to get my bachelor's degree."

Up until now, the answer has never been, "To play sports while I go to school."

But thanks to the vision and hard work of a large number of friends and the Board of Regents, we now have initiated an athletic program to serve the thousands of graduating high school athletes.

Last summer an advisory committee of 20 community leaders and faculty, chaired by community leader John O'Reilly, met to study the need for intercollegiate athletics at the Community College. In the fall, they completed their feasibility study and recommended to the Board of Regents that intercollegiate athletics would fit in well with the overall mission of CCSN.

The Board of Regents' agreed and added the caveat that no state funding for the program should be used; any money needed would have to come from private sources. So we went to work.

We solicited donations and forged partnerships with our local communities. Mayor James Gibson and the city of Henderson, in particular, stepped forward to help make the dream possible and we are now well on our way to completion of athletic fields at CCSN's Henderson campus.

Our time line calls for us to introduce one sport each year and our inaugural sport will be men's baseball. This is a natural given our ideal climate, the interest of the community, the ability to raise funds and the abundance of talent in Southern Nevada.

Next year we plan to add our first women's team. Given the excitement generated by the U.S. women's soccer team winning the World Cup in July, soccer is certainly at the forefront of our thinking.

Other sports under consideration for early initiation include men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball, men's soccer, men's golf and men's and women's tennis. An unexpected and delightful consequence of the introduction of athletics on campus has been the spurt in the growth of club and intramural sports at our college, enabling even more of our students to take part in athletic programs.

This spring, Athletic Director Mike Meyer came on board to launch the Coyote Athletic Program. He researched the various conferences that we could align ourselves with and then decided to make an application to the 14-college Arizona Community College Athletic Conference. Arizona's similar climate and proximity will make for a level planning field and keep our traveling costs to a reasonable level. CCSN will play its first year's schedule of 40 games independent of any conference to give us time to evaluate each other.

A primary goal of the CCSN's athletic program is to keep local high school athletes here in Southern Nevada. Last year close to 40 talented baseball players left the state, lured by the opportunity to play their sport and the possibility of a scholarship to defray the cost of their education. For those with talent but without the opportunity of a scholarship, it meant out-of-state tuition and room and board -- a financial drain for any family.

Now we have an incredible drawing card. Athletic director Meyer and head baseball coach Tim Chambers have signed or received a commitment from 17 local high school players, and five local students are transferring back from California for the opportunity to play for the CCSN Coyotes.

The interest and support from our local community has been extraordinary. Students have been stopping by the college's athletics office for weeks to get a look at the Coyote game and plan road trips for the out-of-town games. Family and friends are excited to be able to see their team play right here in town. Studies show that participation in athletics attracts students who might not consider higher education and reduces attrition while developing lifelong academic and personal skills. In important ways, athletics will contribute considerably to the quality of life at CCSN.

So join the Blue and Gold in the spring of 2000 as we throw out the first pitch and get ready to "play ball!" Our field in Henderson will be a "field of dreams," helping to change the lives of Southern Nevadans.

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