February 28, 2022 – Today, Mesalands Community College has joined the NJCAA to catapult student success beyond the classroom and into collegiate athletics. Mesalands Community College leads the way in academic and technical training. Utilizing athletics within the association NJCAA, provides opportunities and collaboration across the region for students to compete, succeed, and achieve in their athletic and academic disciplines.  

Mesalands College is proud to announce, in addition to the rodeo program, developments in golf, Cross Country, Esports, and potentially others.

Athletic Director, Milan Rasic celebrated the announcement today by stating, “This is a good day for the Mesalands Community College Stampede family! Thanks to Dr. Busch and his leadership team for believing in this. We appreciate the genuine interest the NJCAA national office staff in Charlotte, NC displayed, when hearing the MCC story. With men’s and women’s rodeo established on the NIRA national stage, an emerging NJCAAE Esports program, and having realized membership with the NJCAA, Mesalands can be a great destination for high school athletes in New Mexico and the southwest region of the United States.”

Since 1938, the NJCAA has served as the nation’s premier governing body for two-year collegiate athletics, providing student-athletes opportunities to PREPARE, COMPETE, SUCCEED and ACHIEVE in their academic and athletic disciplines. The NJCAA is the second-largest national intercollegiate athletic organization in the United States with over 500 member schools in 44 states. Each year over 3,400 teams compete in 28 different sports across multiple divisions in the NJCAA and the organization sponsors 52 national championship events and five football bowl games. Mesalands Community College will be competing in region 5. Region 5 of the NJCAA includes Texas and New Mexico.

“We are delighted the NJCAA has accepted us as a conference school as we advance our athletic programs.” Commented Mesalands Community College President, Gregg Busch. “Our relationship with the conference will catapult student success through the discipline of athletics and underscores the place we hold in higher education nationwide.  We recognize the value of athletics in academia and look forward to the opportunities it will provide our students.”