News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Alpena Community College Athletic Director Allen Telgenhof stands in his office at ACC on Tuesday.

ALPENA — In the past three years, Alpena Community College has added five new sports teams to the roster, seeking to boost enrollment among other benefits.

ACC President Don MacMaster said that the sports program expansion began with the addition of the men’s baseball team three years ago. Prior to that, ACC offered women’s softball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s cross country, and women’s volleyball.

A co-ed esports team was added next. Now, three new teams are ready to begin in the fall: women’s cross country and men’s and women’s soccer.

MacMaster said that there is a correlation between increasing the number of sports teams and increasing enrollment.

“Enrollment is a big challenge because many of the (K-12) schools that we deal with, each of them almost without exception, get slightly smaller every year,” MacMaster said. “Sustaining enrollment is a challenge, and growing it is even more of a challenge.”

ACC’s sports teams draw in out-of-district students who wouldn’t come to the college otherwise, boosting enrollment numbers, MacMaster said.

“We have a number of really popular occupational programs in particular,” he said. “A lot of the men who come here for athletics track into those occupational programs.”

Some programs could use more students, as they are not at full capacity, and athletes help fill that gap. Programs cost about the same whether they are full or not, so nearing that 100% figure is beneficial financially for the college, MacMaster said.

The choice to add sports teams takes in other factors as well. The popularity of a sport among students as well as the community plays a role.

“Virtually every K-12 in our region or around the state offers soccer,” MacMaster said.

He said it made sense to add such a popular sport. Really good soccer players would choose another school to go to if they wanted to play at the collegiate level prior to adding a program at ACC, MacMaster said. Now that ACC has a soccer program, talented soccer players may consider the school as an option.

Adding women’s cross country also made sense, he said, since the school has had a men’s cross country team for a long time.

“We added women’s cross country because it seemed fair and equitable to have a women’s team as well,” Macmaster said.

Federal law requires colleges to balance the number of sports teams by equal opportunity and equal participation, MacMaster said.

“I think that’s entirely appropriate,” he continued. “It’s important that we follow the spirit of that directive and give everyone an equal opportunity for sports.”

He said he’s noticed that the crowds at women’s versus men’s sports events are roughly equal. The community is interested in both men’s and women’s sports, from his perspective.

ACC Athletic Director Allen Telgenhof also commented on the benefits of expanding athletics programs at the college.

Sports teams bring in out-of-district students who make campus more diverse, Telgenhof said.

Overall, athletics help boost school spirit, he said.

“It’s great to see students at the events supporting their classmates,” Telgenhof said.

When it comes to academics, faculty and coaches make sure that the “student” in student athlete is emphasized.

Incoming freshman athletes have access to an academic coach who meets with them once a week to help them organize their time well, Telgenhof said. The academic coach communicates with the student’s instructors and coaches to ensure the student’s success.

“We make sure that academics are first,” Telgenhof said. “At the end of the day, they’re here to get an education.”

Telgenhof and MacMaster emphasized that learning can happen on the field as well.

Students deal with adversity and learn to overcome obstacles. They also learn about organization and time management.

MacMaster also said that students are motivated to do well academically to stay eligible in their sports. The GPAs for each of the teams at the college reflect that. The team with the lowest average GPA for the 2024-2025 school year was the baseball team with a 2.94, according to an email from Telgenhof. The combined average GPA for all student athletes was 3.09.

Telgenhof said in an email that 52 of 81 student-athletes had a 3.0 GPA or higher, and 47 of them had a 3.2 or higher.

Reagan Voetberg can be reached at 989-358-5683 or rvoetberg@TheAlpenaNews.com.