About KC Athletics

Kilgore College participates in football, men's basketball, women's basketball and softball.

All teams compete in Region 14 (Division I) of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

The football team competes in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference (SWJCFC).  KC's football team is the winningest junior college football program in Texas. The Ranger football program began in 1935. In that span, they have won 27 conference championships and have qualified to play in 23 bowl games. Under head coach Willie Gooden, the Rangers won the regular-season SWJCFC Championship in 2019 and won the Regional Championship in 2022, qualifying to play in the Tips-CHAMPS Heart of Texas Bowl. KC won national football championships in 1966 (under head coach Boyd Converse) and in 1978 (under head coach Jim Miller).

For men's basketball, the Rangers, under head coach Brian Hoberecht, have qualified for the NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan., in 2013, 2021 and 2022.  In 2022, the Rangers made it to the Elite Eight in the national tournament. Last season (2021) was the best record that KC basketball has had in 63 years at KC with a 31-3 record.

The Lady Rangers basketball program has won three NJCAA National Championships, all under the leadership of the late Hall of Fame head coach Evelyn Blalock.  They won national titles in 1988, 1990 and 1993.

For complete histories of KC's sports click on "Inside Athletics" on this website.

...and it's not just about athletic successes:

KC prides itself in having an extremely high graduation/transfer rate for all of its student-athletes.  At Kilgore College, it's not just about winning on the court or the field... it's about producing student-athletes who are academically advanced and earn college degrees to help them with their successl after their athletic careers are over.

KC coaches take pride in developing men and women who will be successfull after athletic careers -- for example, in the spring of 2022, KC was accepted into the National College Athlete Honor Society as the Texas OXA Chapter of Theta Chi Alpha, which recognizes student-athletes from two-year institutions who excel in both the classroom and competition.

In the spring of 2022, 27 student-athletes at KC were honored as Theta Chi Alpha members.

In order to be inducted into Theta Chi Alpha, they had to have completed at least three full-time semesters and must have achieved a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.4 (on a 4.0 scale) – while also participating in their varsity sport.

WE ARE PROUD OF OUR STUDENT-ATHLETES' SUCCESS ON AND OFF THE COURT!