PCC undefeated in (and by) football

I teach at Portland Community College part-time and take pride, and joy, in the association.

PCC is a great community asset. For many it provides what I call an educational opportunity of "first resort" and, in some cases, "last resort." I have taught on several campuses, but I have never taught classes with a greater diversity of students—in every way.

So it is that I wear a blue-and-gray t-shirt that trumpet's a proud PCC tradition. It reads, "Portland Community College Football—undefeated since 1964."

No football campus can match that record, unless it alters its culture and compiles the record the way PCC has: By wisely not having a football team.

More than being undefeated in football, PCC has not been defeated by it. (Like Portland's Reed College, known nationally for its academic excellence) PCC suffers from no distorted football booster values, no recruiting scandals, no dependence on sneaker (read "Nike" and others) endorsements, no hypocrisy about athletic "scholarships" and no grotesquely over-paid coaches or athletic directors. (See my recent posts on the latter subject)

The resources and energy of PCC's alumni, students and administrators are focused on education, learning and discovery.

That's the way it should be.