NPC adds 3 new sports
Baseball, softball, XC teams to begin in 19-20
National Park College announced Tuesday it will add men’s baseball, women’s softball and cross country teams to its athletic program for the 2019-20 academic year.
The school held an announcement for the additions on Tuesday in the Frederick M. Dierks Center for Nursing and Health Sciences. Jason Hudnell, the college’s athletics director, said the decision to add the new sports programs was about more than fans being able to cheer for new teams.
Hudnell said the new programs will allow the college to keep more local student-athletes who have traditionally left the area to pursue college opportunities in athletics. Hudnell is also the school’s dean of enrollment and the coach of the men’s basketball team.
“Those students should be staying in Garland County,” Hudnell said. “Not only should they be staying in Garland County, they should be a Nighthawk. They should be at National Park College.”
The college announced an agreement with the Mountain Pine School District to hold baseball and softball games, as well as practices, at the Red Devils’ facilities for at least the first season. Players and coaches from Mountain Pine were in attendance for the announcement.
“Baseball and softball were very obvious choices for us because of the local talent we see here in our area just within a driving radius,” Hudnell said. “You see so many of the travel baseball and softball teams.
“We knew there were young men and women and student-athletes that would be interested in this opportunity. We knew we could compete and field a very competitive team with the talent we see within our recruiting footprint.”
NPC President John Hogan said athletics was a major topic of discussion when he was hired to succeed Sally Carder in 2014. Construction is ongoing for a student commons building, which is part of a $15 million phase of the college’s master plan. The college also recently announced it is moving forward with plans for campus housing.
“We are excited to be a part of this community revolution, and it all stems from a passion to provide opportunities for students,” Hogan said.
Hudnell said the college has worked toward offering students a university experience in Garland County.
“And then you add athletics to that piece, we are going to look a whole lot like a four-year university,” Hudnell said. “There are going to be a lot of parts of our campus that when you drive through it and look at the amenities that we offer, it is going to be harder to say you need to go spend twice as much for the very same thing.”
The college held a community selection process for the Nighthawk mascot in 2016. Men’s and women’s basketball were added as club teams for the 2017-18 academic year.
National Park College had not fielded athletic teams since the 1990s when the state modified how college sports programs were funded. The college previous competed in a variety of sports as the Garland County Community College Lakers.
Hudnell said he was surprised by the amount of support the Nighthawk basketball teams have received. The men’s team is currently 8-0 in its first season in the National Junior College Athletic Association.
National Park College is a member of Region 2 of the NJCAA. The men’s and women’s cross country teams will participate in Division I. The baseball and softball teams will compete in Division II, along with basketball.
Hudnell and Hogan said the athletics program provides more opportunities for students and their interests at the college.
“If that is the carrot that we have to use to advance the life of a young man or a young woman, then we are going to do it,” Hudnell said. “Is it going to cost us money? Absolutely.
“Is it going to be an incredible amount of work? Yes. You can ask these young men and women that serve on our basketball teams now. There is a lot of work that goes into it. Is it worth it? Absolutely.”
Hogan said local baseball historian and former Garland County Community College coach Mike Dugan helped him learn about the local history and interest in college sports.
“The community turned out for all of our athletic events,” Dugan said. “The community was behind us. There was a time when we lost athletics. The community drifted away. You know, we are not exactly in town, but we are part of the community.”
“What has been one of the most surprising things I have found as we started basketball was the level of support we have had in the stands for our basketball games,” Hudnell said. “Hot Springs has embraced us. They have embraced the Nighthawks.”
“It is not a college president that does it,” Hogan said. “It is not a faculty. It is not students by themselves. It takes all of those groups and the community support is a necessary ingredient in that.
Hudnell and Hogan said the college will need more support from the community for the new programs. Part-time coaches will be hired for the new teams, but fundraising efforts are underway to offset the costs of travel, facilities and equipment.
“We are working on a complex, which we have not had in many, many years in Hot Springs,” Dugan said. “We don’t even have youth baseball in the heart of Hot Springs. We have it in the county.”
Dugan aided in the research and development of the Hot Springs Baseball Trail. He also contributed research for “The First Boys of Spring” documentary about original baseball spring training camps in Hot Springs.
“We think we are going to have an announcement for you in the very near future that could impact Nighthawk baseball and softball very dramatically with a new complex that may be going up,” Dugan added.
“Not maybe. It is going to go up, and we have so many great people involved.”