JC football reappears in state

Without the financial backing or administrative support of junior colleges in Washington, Kory Hill is spearheading a grassroots effort to bring junior college football back to the state after a 13-year absence.

“We’re trying to bring it back from the dead,” Hill said.

In September, football teams at four Washington junior colleges will begin practice. Each will open a five-game schedule the first week of October. There will be teams at South Puget Sound Community College, Tacoma Community College, Green River Community College and Yakima Valley Community College.

“I saw that the high school players didn’t have any place to go,” Hill said. “I knew that had to change.”

To be eligible, players must be enrolled for at least five credits at the school where they play and be 18 to 24 years old.

Hill, who lives in Auburn and works for the state transportation department, is calling his association the Northwest Community College Football League. It is an independent league and not affiliated with any community college athletic conference in Washington.

“Once word gets out that this league is a bridge to get academically challenged athletes to (NCAA) Division I and Division II (schools), it will be off and flying,” Hill said.

Teams already have held one tryout and are filling a 30-man roster limit. There are 50 players signed up total for the four teams.

Joe Stinson, who has been involved with the Thurston County Youth Football League, is the SPSCC coach.

“It’s just a matter of getting the word out,” Stinson said. “We had some talented kids show up at our first tryout. Kids are interested. Right now, they’re just waiting to see how this is going to work out.”

One of the biggest challenges in bringing junior college football back to Washington has been covering costs. It will cost $300 to outfit each player with gear. Add to that the cost of referees, stadium rental and travel. Hill is buying equipment from Riddell on a two-year contract.

To help cover costs, players pay $40 to participate in the initial tryout and $260 for the season. The league will have insurance to cover catastrophic injury, but players will have to have their own health insurance.

Coaching staffs at the four colleges are volunteers.

“I know a lot of people in football. I’m pretty well connected,” Hill said. “I know some people who will volunteer to do this because it’s such a good cause. I really wasn’t worried about paying the coach $50,000.”

Hill is hoping to arrange a game with Washington State University, playing the WSU freshmen and sophomores. WSU coach Paul Wulff is an ex-teammate of Todd Stroschein, the Green River coach.

“A game with WSU would give us instant credibility,” Hill said. “We think the Huskies will be right on board with this. We’re hoping we can build a partnership.”

Odan Penilton, who works with youth football in Tacoma and played college football at the University of Utah, is the coach at Tacoma Community College.

“If semipro can get 10 teams with 40 to 50 guys who go to work every day and pay $200 plus to play, there’s no reason why kids in college wouldn’t want to play,” Penilton said. “I see it being huge in a couple of years.”

Walla Walla Community College was the last JC in Washington to offer football. The school played its last season in 1996.