Four new sports programs join the roster at Pellissippi State Community College
Men’s basketball, women’s basketball, softball, and baseball will all be added to the school’s sports teams in 2024.
Pellissippi State Community College introduced eight new sports teams in Fall 2023, and beginning in 2024, there will be even more athletic teams available on campus: men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, and softball are all being added.
According to an article on Pellissippi State Community College’s website, Brock Evans, the Athletic Director, said that adding these new sports teams to the lineup will likely double the number of student athletes on campus, along with almost all of the school’s current athletes returning to play again next year.
“We are going to ride the momentum of coming off a very successful fall. We are looking for coaches now and eventually will have interest forms on our website for students who would like to be recruited,” he said, adding, “These sports will fill a hole Knoxville has had for a long time, giving high school athletes a local community college option. These are the largest and oldest sports in the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association.”
Pellissippi State continues to focus on helping its student athletes succeed both in their sport and in their education, with athletes being required to participate in study hall for three to six hours every week.
Evans noted that the balance of effort is important, saying, “Being a college student-athlete is really a full-time job. It’s asking a lot, particularly of those who are also doing college-level work for the first time.”
All of the teams that began this year were successful, with men’s soccer achieving an impressive record, the women’s soccer coach being named Coach of the Year by the TCCAA, and numerous individual players on several of the teams being recognized for their performances.
Evans said, “All I asked of our coaches this first year was to build a culture within their individual programs, and we’ve had tremendous buy-in with our student-athletes. They’ve built a community. We are dedicated to building championship-level teams with championship-level resources and coaching.”
For more information about Pellissippi State Community College, visit the school’s website.