Chipola College is a

public college A public university or public college is a university or college that is in state ownership, owned by the state or receives significant government spending, public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private unive ...

in Marianna, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System.

History

The school was founded in 1947 as Chipola Junior College; its name was changed in 2003 after the college developed several

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

programs.

Campus

The college was named for the

Chipola River The Chipola River is a tributary of the Apalachicola River in western Florida. It is part of the ACF River Basin watershed. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April ...

, which is located less than a mile from the campus. In 2012, the school opened a $16 million, 56,000 square foot center for the arts, including two theaters.

Academics

The college offers degree programs leading to the award of Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees, as well as Bachelor of Science degrees in Business, Education, and Nursing.

Student life

The

Brain Bowl Brain Bowl is an academic competition in which Florida Community College teams are pitted against one another. Teams consist of up to six players, only four of whom play at any given time. A moderator reads questions from four subject areas incl ...

team has won nine state championships and three national championships under coach Stan Young and assistant coach Robert Dunkle.

Sports

The school is noted for its athletic program, which competes in the Panhandle Conference of the Florida State College Activities Association, a body of the

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

Region 8.

Baseball

The baseball program counts among its alumni former Texas Rangers manager

Buck Showalter William Nathaniel "Buck" Showalter III (born May 23, 1956) is an American professional baseball manager for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, he served as manager of the New York Yankees (1992–1995), Arizona Diamondb ...

and

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...

standout Adam Loewen,

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

third baseman Mat Gamel,

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

outfielder José Bautista, and Los Angeles Dodgers

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher ...

Russell Martin.

Basketball

The men's basketball program was once home to Auburn standout Chris Porter, Oklahoma State player Mario Boggan,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...

' Jesse Pate, Missouri's Stefhon Hannah, and Indiana's JaMarcus Ellis and DeAndre Thomas. The men's basketball program has won more state basketball championships under one coach (seven for Milton H. Johnson) and in total (nine) than any other junior-college basketball program in Florida. In the 2003–2004 and 2004–05 seasons, it finished fifth and third in the nation respectively and, in 2005, received its first-ever No. 1 national ranking. In 2004–2005, the basketball program won state championships in both men's and women's basketball. The women's basketball team repeated its state championship in 2005–2006, finishing fourth in the nation. In 2006–2007, the men's and women's teams both won the state championship. To finish the 2007 season, the men's program finished 33–3 with a runner-up finish in the NJCAA National Championship game. During that season, the Indians were ranked #1 in the national poll for 10 straight weeks.

Notable alumni

References

External links

* {{Authority control Education in Jackson County, Florida Educational institutions established in 1947 Florida College System Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools 1947 establishments in Florida NJCAA athletics