Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference
The Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) is a college athletic conference that is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association. As of 2007, the KJCCC was home to more than 3,000 student-athletes in the 19 men's and women's sports. The conference's name comes from "Jayhawk" which is a term used for people born in the state of Kansas, where all of the conference's schools are located. The term Jayhawk, however, originated with a group of guerrillas during the American Civil War.[1][2][3]
Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference | |
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KJCCC | |
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Established | 1923 |
Association | NJCAA |
Members | 21 |
Sports fielded |
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Region | VI |
Former names | Kansas Public Junior College Association (1923–1962) Kansas Jayhawk Junior College Conference (1962–1975) |
Headquarters | Baldwin City, Kansas |
Commissioner | Carl Heinrich |
Website | www |
Locations | |
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Members
Institution | Location | Founded | Nickname | Colors | Basketball | Volleyball | Softball |
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Allen Community College | Iola | 1923 | Red Devils | Division II | Division II | Division II | |
Barton Community College | Great Bend | 1969 | Cougars | Division I | Division I | Division I | |
Butler Community College | El Dorado | 1927 | Grizzlies | Division I | Division I | Division I | |
Cloud County Community College | Concordia | 1965 | Thunderbirds | Division I | Division II | Division II | |
Colby Community College | Colby | 1964 | Trojans | Division I | Division II | Division II | |
Coffeyville Community College | Coffeyville | 1923 | Red Ravens | Division I | Division II | Division II | |
Cowley Community College | Arkansas City | 1922 | Tigers | Division I | Division II | Division II | |
Dodge City Community College | Dodge City | 1935 | Conquistadors | Division I | Division I | Division I | |
Fort Scott Community College | Fort Scott | 1919 | Greyhounds | Division II | Division II | Division II | |
Garden City Community College | Garden City | 1919 | Broncbusters | Division I | Division I | Division I | |
Hesston College | Hesston | 1909 | Larks | Division II | Division II | Division II | |
Highland Community College | Highland | 1858 | Scotties | Division II | Division II | Division II | |
Hutchinson Community College | Hutchinson | 1928 | Blue Dragons | Division II | Division II | Division II | |
Independence Community College | Independence | 1925 | Pirates | Division I | Division II | Division I | |
Johnson County Community College | Overland Park | 1967 | Cavaliers | Division II | Division II | Division II | |
Kansas City Kansas Community College | Kansas City | 1923 | Blue Devils | Division II | Division II | Division II | |
Labette Community College | Parsons | 1923 | Cardinals | Division II | Division II | Division II | |
Neosho County Community College | Chanute | 1936 | Panthers | Division II | Division II | Division II | |
Northwest Kansas Technical College | Goodland | 1964 | Mavericks | Division I | Division I | Division I | |
Pratt Community College | Pratt | 1938 | Beavers | Division I | Division I | Division I | |
Seward County Community College | Liberal | 1969 | Saints | Division I | Division I | Division I | |
All KJCCC schools compete in Division I football, wrestling, track and field and cross country. Hesston is the only member that competes in Division II baseball. Independence is the only member that does not field a baseball team.
Football
Only seven of the schools have football: Butler, Coffeyville, Dodge City, Garden City, Hutchinson, Highland, and Independence. The conference is not divided into divisions for football.[4] Fort Scott terminated its football program on Nov. 8, 2021.
From 2000 through the 2013 season, the regular-season champion was considered the Jayhawk Conference champion while the playoff champion was considered the Region VI champion. Prior to the 2014 season, the playoffs were eliminated from the schedule so that each Jayhawk Conference team could play a game versus each football-playing school in Iowa. The Jayhawk Conference regular-season champion is now also the Region VI champion.
Division I vs. Division II
KJCCC members can choose to compete in either NJCAA Division I or Division II in any sport (Except football, which does not have a Division II). All members except Hesston compete in Division I in baseball but other sports are split.
The majority of schools are Division II in volleyball and softball. In these sports, the Western Division consists of the Division I schools while the Eastern Division consists of those choosing to play Division II. This results in an unbalanced alignment. During the 2010 season, for example, KJCCC softball had 14 members playing softball in the Eastern Division and only 5 in the Western Division.
In men's and women's basketball, only Allen County, Neosho County, Johnson County, Fort Scott, Hesston, Kansas City Kansas, Labette and Highland currently play Division II. In the 2013–14 season, the four schools which were playing in Division II at the time (Labette did not change divisions until 2014–15), competed in a separate division ("East Division II"). Butler moved from the Western Division to the Eastern Division to help balance out the divisions in Division I. For 2014–15, the former division structure was restored with the Division I and II schools recombined in the Eastern Division and Butler going back to the Western Division.
Beginning in 2015–16, the basketball divisions were changed once again. All Division I schools were merged into a single division but did not play a full round-robin schedule. All Division II schools were also put into a single division, the same as in 2013–14. The Division I schools began playing a full-round robin basketball schedule in 2016–17 but have since made adjustments to deal with the great distances between most of the schools.