Coahoma Community College President Dr. Valmadge Towner’s goal is for all athletic teams on campus have an average Grade Point Average of at least 2.5 this year.
Towner discussed that and other issues during the board meeting Wednesday, Dec. 11. Tigers football coach Travis Macon and his assistants were officially hired and introduced during the same meeting.
Currently, Towner said the lowest GPA of any team is 1.7.
“Midterm grades generally are always lower than the final grades, particularly in the middle of the football,” Towner said. “We would like to have all sports above 2.5 as a team and some are lower than that, which is not acceptable. That is not what we want.”
A student enrollment coordinator works with coaches and is a liaison to monitor the student-athlete’s success.
“We have got to think about wrap around services, auditing attendance, being alerted when students do not attend,” Towner said.
When Macon was announced as the football coach, he talked about the importance of academics and how student athletes will be held to a higher standard. One new change is students who do not have class in the morning will be studying with a coach watching over them.
“That’s going to be better because you’re going to get more attention to it,” Towner said. “What it is you’re going to have to have those services for students along the way. You’ve got to address issues that happen in real time.”
In other areas of his report, Towner said CCC students from Coahoma County have received more than $1 million in Pell grants. A Pell grant is money the government provides for students who need it to pay for college and does not have to be repaid.
“Some students who are qualified for such receive Pell grants,” Towner said. “So we just tally up the number, how much the students of Coahoma County get. That’s an economic driver. That check comes to Coahoma County. It turns over in the community three to seven times.”
Towner said that is an investment in the community.
“Those students are receiving Pell grants to the tune of over $1 million,” Towner said. “That’s a personal check that’s given to them. Chances are, they’re going to spend that money here.”
Towner said during the January 2020 board meeting he planned to give a breakdown in scholarships provided to CCC students. Those scholarships include academic, athletic, band and much more.
Towner also gave a breakdown of the employees during the December meeting. He said there were 302 employees at the school and the average age is 47.
