From the time NESCom moved on campus, their students were not allowed to play sports. Intramural yes. Varsity? Not unless said student enrolled at Husson. For the 2011-2012 academic year, that all changed. Husson got the okay from the NCAA to allow NESCommers onto varsity sports teams.

Three students jumped at the chance. In an interview with NESCom Connection, Godfrey Taylor (a senior on the football team), says it’s a dream for him to play while being a student at NESCom. “It’s a dream come true to represent all the students who didn’t get the opportunity to do it.”

Students had been unable to play sports for Husson since its arrival because of always being a separate entity. But with a looming merger the NCAA finally granted permission to allow students to play. “I think it’s great that they have finally integrated and (NESCom students) are able to participate. I always thought it was kind of weird that NESCom students couldn’t play sports at Husson, but I understood why because they’re two separate schools” said junior Wes Hart, a student at NESCom.
“I think it makes a person that much more well rounded anytime that you can expand your horizons, whether it’s theatre, sports, or student government” said Rodney Verrill, executive director video production at NESCom.

Now that students are able to play sports teachers at NESCom now have new challenges to deal with that have never been there before. “I think anytime that you have a student whose responsibilities are divided…its difficult to sometimes focus on their primary goal of education,” Verrill explained.
“Anytime you water that down there are choices that have to be made and there are maybe a few concessions that have to be made,” Verrill went on to say.

It’s hard to say what type of impact the change in eligibility will have on prospective students. Hart said, “It wouldn’t have had any affect on me because I was going to come here regardless. But I definitely think it could help influence the decisions of other students.”
Rodney Verrill added, “Prior to our involvement with Husson athletics it was very difficult to recruit students based on their major. Now its becoming much easier because (prospective students) see those extracurricular activities as a way to enhance their college careers and really as a stepping stone to becoming better people.”

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