Those within BMCC’s Athletics Department take tremendous pride in it being named the best sports program in the CUNY Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) two years in a row — but Athletic Director Steve Kelly makes sure everyone knows that it’s not always about winning and losing.
“Of course the main goal is to put a competitive team on the field or court,” Kelly said, “but my own personal goal is to have our athletes be both athletically and academically successful.”
BMCC currently has six sports teams — women’s and men’s basketball and soccer, women’s volleyball, and baseball. And now, for the first time, you can get all the information you need on each team at the new Web site.
Moving On to Four-Year Schools
“One of the things we take a lot of pride in is moving our students on to four-year colleges,” Kelly said. “So many of our kids want to play at the next level.”
BMCC has had success in that area over the years, with a number of student-athletes achieving scholarships to play at the Division II and III levels. The men’s soccer team alone has seen nearly a dozen players move on to play on a partial or full athletic scholarship at four-year colleges.
“We’ve been fortunate the last few years to have had some good players who we’ve been able to move on,” Kelly said.
It’s pushing the players to meet the requirements that is sometimes a challenge. But it’s very simple, Kelly said: “They can’t step foot on our athletic field or court unless they’re in good academic standing. I emphasize that fact, and I tell them: you have these dreams of going on to another school? Well, you’ve got to be academically sound. The four-year colleges have academic restrictions and pressures just like we do.”
Keeping the Grades Up
“One of the most frustrating things for coaches at any level of college is to recruit a student athlete and then lose them due to academic difficulties,” Kelly said.
To prevent that, the athletic department keeps in contact with the academic side of the student-athlete’s life.
“We coordinate with the Learning Resource Center and other facets of the college who will help us if any of our students need tutoring or extra help so that they can be successful. The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is very strict as far as the academic requirements students have to meet,” he said.
And the success has shown: each year the CUNY Athletic Conference has a student-athletes award dinner, and Kelly said BMCC regularly does well.
“Getting our kids represented at that particular level is something we look forward to every year, and it’s wonderful to see the four-year colleges wanting these kids because they know they’re sound both athletically and academically. We’re really proud of that.”
Go Team!
A small part of the program’s success is the support teams get from the college community, though Kelly admits he’d like some growth in the area.
“Being in New York City, sometimes it’s hard to get outsiders to come to a community college basketball game. We get quite a few of our students showing up, though,” he said. “When good teams come in, we get good crowds. Word spreads quickly when a team is doing well, and we do get a lot of people following us. And the players do feed off it. Folks say it’s a difficult place to play here when we get a lot of student interest. I’d just like to get more.”
Perhaps with a new Web site to promote the successful program, Kelly’s wish will be answered.
