Soccer is coming to Blue Mountain Community College. The BMCC Board of Education on Wednesday night gave College administration the approval to begin developing a comprehensive program for women’s and men’s collegiate-level soccer to the college.
The timeline for implementation is to notify the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) during the fall term of 2015 of BMCC’s intent to add women’s soccer in 2016-2017 and men’s soccer in 2017-2018. Recruitment for coaches will begin this winter in preparation for athlete recruitment next spring. The College anticipates approximately 50-60 additional BMCC student athletes competing in soccer in the NWAC, engaging on campus and representing the college as a Timberwolf.
Currently, there are soccer programs at 26 of the NWAC’s 36 collegiate teams. In rare form, the NWAC’s Executive Director, Marco Azurdia, wrote an enthusiastic letter of support for soccer at BMCC to the Board of Education, citing the positive athletic, cultural, academic, and financial impact adding the sport could have for the college.
Board of Education member Eddie De La Cruz, of Hermiston, could hardly contain his excitement during the Board meeting Wednesday, citing the cultural aspect of soccer in the Hispanic community.
“I am so grateful the college is bringing in soccer,” he said. “This will open doors for many Hispanic students who want to continue playing soccer and earn an education, but don’t want to leave home.”
With numerous soccer programs in the region, both at club and high school levels, BMCC won’t have to look far to find talent to fill a roster.
BMCC Athletic Director Brett Bryan will apply for multiple grants to assist with start-up costs, in addition to the General Fund support BMCC will offer. Fortunately, BMCC already has a soccer field on the Pendleton campus, which also happens to be the only regulation-size soccer field in the city. It’s currently utilized by Pendleton High School’s soccer teams, as well as youth soccer programs. Minor enhancements will bring the field up to par for collegiate soccer.
Women’s and men’s soccer will join women’s and men’s basketball and rodeo, as well as volleyball, baseball and softball at BMCC. Student athletes, collectively, at BMCC achieved a higher average GPA than the averaged general full-time student at BMCC, and 91 percent of sophomores successfully transferred to a four-year institution.
