Gadsden State to reinstate baseball, softball programs
Gadsden State Community College will field baseball and softball teams beginning in Fall 2023. The announcement was made April 18, 2022, by Dr. Kathy Murphy, president, during a community meeting at the Beck Field House on the Wallace Drive Campus. The meeting was attended by graduates, former student-athletes, community leaders, Gadsden State employees, alumni and students.
“I am beyond delighted that we are reinstating the baseball and softball programs at Gadsden State,” she said. “We believe this is a good way to recruit, enroll, retain and support students. We are providing them a good collegiate experience.”
The baseball and softball teams were disbanded at Gadsden State in 2011 and 2016, respectively. Murphy said the decision to reinstate the programs came after a Jan. 20 community meeting was held to gage public interest. A committee of local supporters, including former Gadsden State student-athletes, was convened to discuss and research the possibility of the reinstatements.
“We have decided that we are tired of being spectators,” she said. “We want to participate. Life is not a spectator sport. You are all here because you don’t want to be a spectator of life. You are ready to participate. We are all ready to participate.”
The softball team will utilize one of the fields constructed by the City of Gadsden in the Gadsden Sports Park located behind the College’s Wallace Drive Campus. The baseball team will play on the field at the Gadsden Sports Complex located on Meighan Boulevard after being vacated by the Gadsden City High School Titans team, who is moving to a new stadium.
Baseball and softball are not the only recent additions to the Gadsden State Athletics Department. Murphy announced the reinstatement of cross country in September 2021. The cross country team was eliminated following the Fall 2011 season.
“Not everyone will agree with us on investing in sports but that’s OK. They can be wrong,” Murphy said. “We need our community to come forward and support our Athletic Department. We need to see your faces when the bats are cracking.”
With the addition of men’s and women’s cross country teams and the baseball and softball teams, Gadsden State now has eight teams. The College currently has men’s and women’s basketball, women’s volleyball and men’s tennis.
Sidney Peterson, a current volleyball player, said she is pleased that more student-athletes will be able to benefit from being a Gadsden State Cardinal.
“At Gadsden State, I have learned from supportive and knowledgeable instructors, grew under the leadership of strong female coaches and developed friendships with some of the best athletes in our region,” she said.
In addition to a positive collegiate experience, more area student-athletes will be able to expand their athletic careers beyond high school, Peterson said.
“As student-athletes at Gadsden State, we are given the opportunity to adjust to a less-intimidating environment while perfecting our athletic skills and earning a solid education,” she said. “We are becoming better athletes and better students thanks to our time at Gadsden State.”
Kyle Reeves, who played on the Cardinals baseball team in 1998 and 1999, served on the Baseball/Softball Reinstatement Committee.
“I enjoyed being involved on the committee, and I’m excited that baseball and softball are coming back to Gadsden State,” he said. “We have a president that values athletics and values what athletics can do for the community.”
Mandy Martin is a former softball player from 2005 to 2007. She said she wants other student-athletes to have the same positive experience at Gadsden State that she had.
“Playing ball at Gadsden State meant the world to me,” she said. “The experiences I had created memories that will last a lifetime. We weren’t just part of a team at Gadsden State. We were part of a family.”
Murphy said the coaches will decide what equipment is needed for their respective team, but she knows there will be a substantial upstart investment. Besides equipment, Gadsden State will have to fund the salaries of coaches, scholarships for players, paying umpires, traveling to games and insurance.
“This is a big undertaking financially,” she said. “It’s expensive but, like Babe Ruth said, ‘Never let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game.’ We are stepping forward to do what we think is best for our students and for our community. We can’t be afraid of striking out.”
The Cardinal Foundation is accepting financial donations to be used for expenses incurred by the reinstatement of baseball and softball. The Cardinal Foundation is an organization established to raise, manage, distribute and steward private resources to support the mission of Gadsden State. It is governed by a board of directors led by Tommie Goggans III, president. For more information about donating toward the baseball and softball upstart costs, contact John Roberson, director of Advancement and Alumni Relations, at 256-549-8377 or jroberson@gadsdenstate.edu.