Author: Mark Rummel

SC4 Hosts Inagural Thumbcoast Tip-Off Basketball Tournament

SC4 Women’s Basketball athletes in a team huddle

St. Clair County Community College (SC4) will play host to eight of the top junior college women’s basketball teams in the country Nov. 14, 15 and 16 for the inaugural Thumbcoast Tip-Off Basketball Tournament.

A total of 12 games will be played at the SC4 Fieldhouse Thursday through Saturday, featuring six teams ranked in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II rankings, and another that is receiving votes.

Games will be played at 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. The championship game will be at 6 p.m. on Saturday, following placement games at noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

No. 21 SC4, led by coach Mike Groulx, is among those ranked teams, joined by No. 3 Mesa Community College, No. 4 CCBC Essex, No. 7 Lake Land College, No. 11 Mid Michigan College and No. 18 Harcum College. Lansing Community College is also receiving votes.

Mesa placed third at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament a year ago, while CCBC Essex was fourth and Harcum was eighth. Mid-Michigan and Lake Land also qualified for the 2024 national tournament.

“SC4 provides a college experience in downtown Port Huron,” said SC4 President Kirk Kramer.  “Hosting an elite Women’s college basketball tournament is part of providing an all-around college life and atmosphere for students and residents.  Our Skippers team will have an opportunity to compete against the best competition in the country and our fans have an opportunity to witness first-hand the quality level of talent resident in community colleges. Teams and fans from across the country will see for themselves what we appreciate about our area.”

Tickets are $10 per day, or $25 for a three-day pass, and can be purchased in advance at sc4skippers.com/fanzone/ticketing.

On top of the exciting on-court action, women’s basketball Hall of Famer Juliene Brazinski Simpson will be on hand to perform ceremonial jump balls prior to games and address the coaches and athletes. Brazinski Simpson was a co-captain on the 1976 US Olympic Women’s Basketball Team, which won a silver medal. She also won a gold medal with the US National Team at the 1975 Pan Am Games.

The SC4 Fieldhouse is a state-of-the-art athletic facility located on SC4’s campus, nestled between Downtown Port Huron and the Black River. SC4 has been providing high quality, affordable education in St. Clair County for more than 100 years. 

The Thumbcoast Tip-Off is presented by SC4 along with Discover the Blue, and is sponsored by McLaren Port Huron, LiUNA Local 1075, SEMCO Energy, Troy Cleaners, DoubleTree Port Huron, Standard Office Supply, Buffalo Wild Wings, All-Star Services, ThumbCoast Realty, LLC, Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, Earl Smith Distributing Co., 4Sports, Body Armor and Casey’s. 

Thumbcoast Tip-Off Schedule

Thursday:

  • Game 1: Edison State vs. Lake Land, 1 p.m.
  • Game 2: Lansing vs. CCBC Essex, 3 p.m.
  • Game 3: Mid-Michigan vs. Mesa, 5 p.m.
  • Game 4: SC4 vs. Harcum

Friday:

  • Game 5: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 1 p.m.
  • Game 6: Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 3 p.m.
  • Game 7: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 5 p.m.
  • Game 8: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 7 p.m.

Saturday:

  • Seventh-Place Game: Loser of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 6, noon
  • Fifth-Place Game: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6, 2 p.m.
  • Third-Place Game: Loser of Game 7 vs. Loser of Game 8, 4 p.m.
  • Championship Game: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8, 6 p.m.

Thumbcoast Tip-Off Team Profiles

St. Clair County Community College

  • Location: Port Huron, Mich.
  • Ranking: 21
  • Conference: Michigan Community College Athletic Association
  • Coach: Mike Groulx
  • Mascot: Skippers

CCBC Essex

  • Location: Rossville, Md.
  • Ranking: 4
  • Conference: Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference
  • Coach: Mike Seney
  • Mascot: Knights

Edison State Community College

  • Location: Piqua, Ohio
  • Ranking: NR
  • Conference: Ohio Community College Athletic Conference
  • Coach: Tim McMahon
  • Mascot: Chargers

Harcum College

  • Location: Bryn Mawr, Pa.
  • Ranking: 18
  • Conference: Eastern Pennsylvania Athletic Conference
  • Coach: Greg Horton
  • Mascot: Bears

Lake Land College

  • Location: Mattoon, Ill.
  • Ranking: 7
  • Conference: Region 24
  • Coach: David Johnson
  • Mascot: Lakers

Lansing Community College

  • Location: Lansing, Mich.
  • Ranking: Others receiving votes
  • Conference: Michigan Community College Athletic Association
  • Coach: Megan Hudson
  • Mascot: Stars

Mesa Community College

  • Location: Mesa, Az.
  • Ranking: 3
  • Conference: Arizona Community College Athletic Conference
  • Coach: Kori Stephenson
  • Mascot: Thunderbirds

Mid-Michigan College

  • Location: Harrison, Mich.
  • Ranking: 11
  • Conference: Michigan Community College Athletic Association
  • Coach: Lance Maney
  • Mascot: Lakers

For media inquiries, please contact Sarah Rutallie, Chief of Staff/Senior Vice President, SC4, at srutallie@sc4.edu 

Registration for SC4’s Winter Semester Begins

Picture of an SC4 building with snow

Registration for the winter semester is now available for SC4 students. With four weeks left until the fall semester comes to an end, now is the perfect time to sign up for courses for next semester. Classes are offered in 40 disciplines, and both on-campus and online options are available. The class schedule can be seen at sc4.edu/schedule.

Current students can register via their Service Center accounts, and new or returning students can submit a free application for admission at sc4.edu/apply. Advising assistance is available, and appointments can be scheduled at sc4.edu/advising.

“Now is a great time to register for SC4’s winter semester classes, as there’s a wide variety of options available,” says SC4’s registrar Carrie Bearss. “Classes are offered on-campus throughout the day, as well as online. Everyone at SC4 is excited to welcome students to campus in January 2025 for the start of a new year and a new semester.”

The winter semester begins on Monday, January 13, 2025, with varied starts for fast-path courses. Contact SC4’s Enrollment Services Office at (810) 989-5500 or enrollment@sc4.edu for information and registration assistance.

The state of Michigan’s Community College Guarantee offers free coverage for in-district tuition rates and fees for 2024 graduates. Additionally, SC4 participates in federal and state of Michigan programs for tuition support such as Reconnect (students age 21+), Pell, Tuition Incentive Program, Michigan Achievement Scholarship and more. The SC4 Financial Aid Office is ready to assist with exploring options, identifying required steps and evaluating qualifications for tuition programs. Contact SC4 Financial Aid for program details at financialaid@sc4.edul.

For media inquiries, please contact Sarah Rutallie, Chief of Staff/Senior Vice President, SC4, at srutallie@sc4.edu

NJCAA Volleyball Tournament at SC4 Fieldhouse

President Kirk Kramer with Skippers Volleyball Team

St. Clair County Community College (SC4) is hosting the first round of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Volleyball Championships November 7 to 9 at the SC4 Fieldhouse in Port Huron, Michigan. The tournament includes the best teams from NJCAA Region 12, which covers Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.

The Skippers qualified for the Great Lakes District A tournament and will open play against North Central Michigan College at 6:00 PM on Thursday, Nov. 7. Other teams in District A include Cuyahoga and Edison State from Ohio, along with Lake Michigan, Montcalm, Mott and Southwestern Michigan.

The Great Lakes District B tournament includes Clark State from Ohio, along with Grand Rapids, Jackson, Kellogg, Lansing, Macomb and Muskegon community colleges from Michigan.

“The SC4 Fieldhouse will be filled with exciting collegiate volleyball action all weekend,” said Dale Vos, director of athletics at SC4. “We are proud to welcome 14 teams to our campus and community. I encourage sports fans to come cheer on the Skippers as we look to punch our ticket to the NJCAA National Championship finals!”

The NJCAA District A & B Championship games will take place on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 1:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 per day, which includes access to multiple games. Tournament information, including game times and brackets, are available at SC4Skippers.com under the Events & Camps tab.

For media inquiries, please contact Sarah Rutallie, Chief of Staff/Senior Vice President, at srutallie@sc4.edu or 810-989-5545

SC4 Presents Fantastic Mr. Fox

fantastic Mr Fox Promo poster

A play based on a book by Roald Dahl, Fantastic Mr. Fox, will be presented by SC4 students and alumni on November 1 and 2 in the FAB Theater on the SC4 campus. Admission is free for all performances. The first performance is on November 1 at 7 p.m., with two additional performances on November 2 at 1 and 7 p.m.

The play is considered a comedy in presentation and is appropriate for all who appreciate the humor of Roald Dahl in its exploration of the unkind.  Roald Dahl’s much-loved story follows the vain efforts of three farmers, Boggis, Bunce and Bean who attempt to get rid of the fox who regularly steals food from their farms.

SC4 students and an alum fill the roles in the production with Director Jay McCullough and Technical Director Cullen Willard.  The production is part of the overall arts programming at SC4, which provides collegiate opportunities in St. Clair County. Actors include Anthony Currie, Quaid McCullough, Leah Lafferty, Sean Michaels, Isaac Beasley, Teegan Snay, Sal Hernandez, May Kehoe, Natalie Manhart, Cameron Jackson, Mara Stockwell, Alec Modrich and Brianna Hilferink.  Students are from Avoca, Columbus, East China, Jeddo, Marine City, Marysville, Port Huron, St. Clair, Yale, and more.

Student reading lines during practice
Students Rehearsing

“The SC4 Players are back and serve as a wonderful example of how college academics and passion for the Fine Arts combine to make rich, memorable student experiences,” said Chief Academic Officer/Senior Vice President Ethan Flick. “I’m looking forward to watching our talented students perform Director Jay McCulloch’s rendition of Fantastic Mr. Fox.”

The SC4 FAB Theater address is 601 Erie Street, Port Huron, MI, and is located on the downtown Port Huron campus of SC4.

St Clair County Community College (SC4) was founded in 1923 and is the only public higher education institution in the thumb of Michigan. SC4 is a comprehensive community college that provides certificates and degrees for employable skills and college credits that can be transferred to a four-year college or university. The college provides collegiate arts and athletics for the area and has been an asset for students and the Port Huron community for over one hundred years.   

For media inquiries, please contact Sarah Rutallie, Chief of Staff/Senior Vice President, SC4, at srutallie@sc4.edu