Category: Athletics

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 

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 to Host NJCAA Soccer Tournament

St. Clair County Community College (SC4) is the hosting the first round of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Soccer Championships in both men’s and women’s soccer November 2 and 3. The tournament includes the best teams from NJCAA Region 12, which covers Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. All games will be played at the Skippers Soccer Field at Morton Park in Marysville.

Both the Skippers teams qualified for the tournament. The men earned the second seed and will play in the semi-final match against Grand Rapids Community College on Sat. Nov. 2 at 1:30 p.m. The winner will take on either Schoolcraft College or Marian University’s Ancilla, which play in the other semi-final match at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.

The Skippers women’s team is seeded fourth and will face Jackson College Sat. Nov. 2 at 4:00 p.m. The winner will play either Schoolcraft College or Kellogg Community College, the other semi-final match which will be played under the lights at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.

“SC4 is honored to be the host site for the NJCAA Region 12 soccer tournament,” said Sr. Pete Lacey, Chief Partnership Officer/Senior Vice President at SC4. “We look forward to welcoming all teams and fans to our beautiful community for some exciting collegiate soccer action. We are super proud to have both our men’s and women’s teams qualified and look forward to cheering the Skippers onto victory!”

The NJCAA Region Championship finals will take place on Sunday, Nov. 3 with the men’s match kicking off at noon, and the women’s at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 per day, which includes access to 4 games each day. Visit SC4skippers.com for tournament details under the Events & Camps tab.

The winners will advance to the next round of the NJCAA National Championship tournament. The NJCAA Division II Men’s and Women’s Soccer Championship finals will be played Nov. 17-23 in Huntsville, Alabama.

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

Dale Vos Inducted into the BCAM Hall of Fame

Dale Vos with his family following his induction into the BCAM Hall of Fame. Left to Right: Beth Vos, Dane Vos, Dale Vos, Zoey Vos and Erin Vos.

Longtime St. Clair County Community College (SC4) men’s basketball coach, Dale Vos, has been inducted into the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM) Hall of Fame. Vos accepted this prestigious award at the 39th Annual BCAM Hall of Fame Banquet, which was held Sunday, October 13 at the Auburn Hills Marriott in Pontiac.

Kirk Kramer, President of SC4, said, “Dale Vos deserves to be recognized for his years of success and dedication to student-athletes. SC4 is pleased to have others recognize Dale for what we benefit from on a daily basis which is his commitment and work in higher education and athletics. SC4 congratulates coach Vos on this well-deserved honor.”

Vos was recognized for his remarkable 30-year career leading the Skippers basketball teams to 504 wins between 1991 and 2021. He led the team to 3 district championships, 3 regional titles and 3 appearances in the NJCAA National Championships, with two of his teams reaching the Final Four.

“Dale has dedicated his career to serving others, positively impacting thousands of young adults during his time at SC4. He is highly respected for his contributions to the game of basketball and very deserving of this prestigious award,” said Pete Lacey, Chief Partnership Officer/Senior Vice President at SC4.

Prior to the BCAM Hall of Fame recognition, Vos collected a variety of other awards for his basketball coaching success, including being honored as the NJCAA Region 12 Coach of the Year and the BCAM Junior College Coach of the Year on three occasions. In 2021, Vos was named the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA) Coach of the Year. He was also awarded the MCCAA Eastern Conference Coach of the Year four times during his career.

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, srutallie@sc4.edu