A Guest Blog by Author Mike Frascogna

How did JUCO football begin?

Mississippi’s Junior College (now called community colleges) began in the 1920s, when the State Legislature approved agricultural high schools adding a thirteenth and fourteenth grade. The typical junior college in those days was a boarding school, still with a concentration on agricultural studies.

Most of the students grew up working hard in tough environments–helping make crops or cutting timber on their family farms or taking odd jobs if they lived in town. These raw-boned farm boys were naturally drawn to the rough sport of football. Almost as soon as the first classes began, these young men began playing football among themselves.

They soon mastered the basics and grew tired of playing against each other. So they sent an invitation–probably more like a challenge–to the boys from the junior college a few counties over. The winners of the first game would seek out yet another opponent to play, while the losers were honor bound to avenge their loss through a rematch. Soon these matches became more frequent and this led to the need for schedules.

Schedules led to fixed seasons, which in turn led to the naming of champions. Football fever took hold and has never let up. The result is Mississippi’s current system of junior/community college football referred to as “JUCO ball.”

JUCOS: The Toughest Football League in America

Signing TODAY at 6:00

 See all JUCO blogs.

When Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College was first established in 1925, it was known as Perkinston (Perk for short), the namesake of the town where it is located. Later the official name of the school was changed to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (also known as Gulf Coast).

Just 28 miles down Highway 26 from Perkinston is another small town named Poplarville the home of the Pearl River Junior College Wildcats. The two schools are neighbors from a geographic standpoint and both are members of the South division of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges.

However, beyond these general comparisons any references to similarities between the two schools must be approached very delicately. Perhaps the best way to express the feelings the students at each of these fine institutions have for one another is to be candid. As many communication experts, psychologists and therapists recommend, openness, honesty and candor can often lead to better understanding between two parties whose opinions differ on certain topics. Or, as expressed in a more colloquial style, “Just put the hay down where the goats can get it.” So here goes; the Wildcats of Pearl River and the Bulldogs of Gulf Coast cannot stand each other. Their level of dislike soars to even higher altitudes when the two schools meet on the gridiron.

To try to put their mutual feelings for each other in perspective consider that the Bulldogs at Gulf Coast are referred to by their friends at Pearl River as “coast scum.” Conversely, the Wildcats at Pearl River are affectionately called “river rats” by their buddies at Gulf Coast a/k/a Perk. These two terms represent the most sanitized references one school has for the other after deleting all the colorful, descriptive, but unnecessary adjectives attached to these names.

JUCOS: The Toughest Football League in America

Signing: Thursday, December 15 at 6:00

A Guest Blog by Author Mike Frascogna

Played November 7, 1964 at Scooba, the undefeated Lions were beaten by arch-rival Jones County Junior College 32-13 to spoil East Mississippi’s trip to the Junior Rose Bowl and a shot at the National Championship.

During the game Scooba’s All-American quarterback, Bill Buckner, was sent to the hospital with a severely broken jaw. Public opinion seemed to favor the notion that the incident on the field involving Buckner’s injury was an intentional act of violence to get him out of the game. The teams discontinued playing each other for ten years before resuming play.

JUCOS: The Toughest Football League in America

Signing: Thursday, December 15 at 6:00

A Guest Blog by Author Mike Frascogna

Love it or hate it, Mississippi JUCO football is unique. The League, while considered by some to be rogue, has produced literally thousands of players who have gone on the compete at the Division I and professional levels.

Hidden in all the glamor of big-time college and professional football are the staggering number of high school and college coaches produced by the JUCO system. Not much attention is given to the players who ended their playing careers at the JUCO level but used their experience to advance their skills as coaches.

Additionally, little attention is given to the student side of the player’s experience. For many of the players in the past, as it is today, JUCO ball allowed them an opportunity to continue their education simply because it was financially affordable. After completing two years of community college, many of the students, whether or not they continue to play football, go on to complete their degree requirements at four year colleges and universities.

JUCOS: The Toughest Football League in America
Signing: Thursday, December 15 at 6:00

 See all JUCO blogs.

A Guest Blog by Author Mike Frascogna

Legend has it that Bozo arrived on the Hinds campus sometime in the mid-40s. While there is no evidence to pinpoint the exact date of Bozo’s arrival, or birth, albeit whatever manner he, she or it, was created, the date of its origin still remains a mystery. There is some sketchy data indicating that Bozo and its descendants, Bozo II and Bozo III continued to reside in and around the Raymond area until the ‘70s. But again, credible information regarding the Bozo clan’s dates of comings and goings at Hinds is nonexistent.

After decades of investigation by local historians, amateur sleuths and several law enforcement agencies some credible facts, although quite unimaginable, have slowly emerged about the metal pachyderm and its offspring.

For reasons that remain unknown, Bozo was at the center of numerous brawls between students at Hinds and their counterparts at Holmes Junior College in Goodman, Mississippi. Oddly, the brawls inspired by Bozo always occurred in the fall before, after or during football games between the two schools.

Why, or how, Bozo was able to instigate such violent behavior between the Hinds and Holmes students remains one of the many unanswered questions surrounding the mascot’s mysterious powers.

Journals kept by some students at Hinds during the “reign of Bozo” indicate that it was originally used as a porch ornament, or doorstop, at the old Shangri-La athletic dormitory. But due to Bozo’s powerful influence on the Hinds campus, it became the target of night raids by Juco terrorist, especially those located in Goodman who attended Hinds’ arch rival institution, Holmes Junior College.

Holmes students took great delight in kidnapping Bozo and removing it to Goodman, or some other unknown destination for imprisonment. Sometimes Bozo would remain a captive for a few weeks, to months or for several years. During those times Bozo was held captive, Hinds students would plot rescue operations to regain possession of their beloved metal mascot. Unfortunately, the custody battle over Bozo got ugly in 1954.

.

JUCOS: The Toughest Football League in America

Signing: Thursday, December 15 at 6:00

 See all JUCO blogs.