Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Mesalands Community College announced last week it officially has joined the National Junior College Athletic Association and would add women’s golf, cross county and esports to its sports offerings in addition to its longstanding men’s and women’s rodeo programs.
Mesalands will compete in Region 5 of the NJCAA, which includes Texas and New Mexico.
“We are delighted the NJCAA has accepted us as a conference school as we advance our athletic programs,” Mesalands President Gregg Busch stated in a Feb. 28 news release. “Our relationship with the conference will catapult student success through the discipline of athletics and underscores the place we hold in higher education nationwide. We recognize the value of athletics in academia and look forward to the opportunities it will provide our students.”
Busch for months during Mesalands board of trustees meetings had openly advocated a membership in NJCAA and adding women’s golf, cross country and esports by fall 2022.
“This is a good day for the Mesalands Community College Stampede family,” Mesalands athletic director Milan Rasic stated in the news release. “Mesalands can be a great destination for high school athletes in New Mexico and the southwest region of the United States.”
The NJCAA is the second-largest national intercollegiate athletic organization in the United States, with more than 500 member schools in 44 states.
Each year over 3,400 teams compete in 28 sports across multiple divisions in the NJCAA, and the organization sponsors 52 national championship events and five football bowl games.