Community? College

On Sunday I was looking through the Northern Watch and almost had my jaw hit the floor when I read about NCTC only having 41 guys out for football. The article also had a breakdown of the states and the numbers of players from each.

I think I counted a total of 11 players from MN and ND. There were far more from Ohio, Florida, Texas, and Illinois.

So much for the idea of community.

What has gone wrong? Why can't NCTC pull more players from the community? I don't know, but drawing them in from out of start certainly brings in more money, but it doesn't translate to wins.

A previous head coach took a much different approach. In 1998, he had one out of state player. And that regime didn't even recruit him. He just showed up. And he was terrible.

But the staff worked hard to bring in local talent. They had an all-world fullback out of Hillsborro, ND. An all-world defensive back out of Plummer. Solid linemen and runningbacks from Goodridge. And they won.

Did they still get in trouble and raise hell? Yes. (I recall the Ronald McDonald from the local McDonald's being stolen and put in one player's car or truck).

But did they respect the coaches? Yes. Did they go to class and behave for the most part? Yes.

However, that coach - who coached under a previous administration that relied heavily on out of state talent - had this approach - "I saw us lose with out of state kids who owed this place nothing. I'm going to recruit area kids and if we lose, fine. But their will be area people supporting us and in the stands."

He took it on the chin that first year, winning just two games. But after that, three conference championships ensued. To be fair, one was won by the current head coach. But look at the talent he had. There was quite a bit from out of state, but his quarterback was from TRF and so was his best lineman. And people cared and went to the games.

But that isn't what seems to be happening lately.

I have many students - and now a niece - who take classes out at NCTC. Many report about the total lack of respect for teachers by some out of state players. This is not hard to see if one considers why they're there: to play a sport or two and just take enough classes to stay eligible.

The numbers bear this out too - nationally half to three fourths of students who enroll at junior colleges never earn degrees.

Now this is not bashing NCTC. It was perfect for me. I never would have made it anywhere had I started out at UND or BSU. I need small class sizes and teachers like Avis Dyrud and Diane Drake to guide me a long.

True, community colleges take darn near everyone who applies. That is what is noble about them, and what allows for such classroom disrespect and a lack of community to develop too.