New Ranger Football Complex dedicated at Northwest

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SENATOBIA, MS (08/29/2017) A dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Ranger Football Complex at Northwest Mississippi Community College was held on Aug. 24. About 200 people attended the dedication, which was followed by an open house and tour of the facility.

The welcome was given by Northwest President, Dr. Gary Lee Spears and remarks were made by Mike Moore, chairman of the Northwest Board of Trustees, Don Skelton, Northwest athletic director and Head Football Coach Benjy Parker. Northwest Ranger quarterback Jack Abraham, a red shirt freshman from Oxford, gave the invocation, and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by linebacker D.J. Reed, a freshman from Horn Lake.

The complex, designed for the intercollegiate Ranger football program, is a 24,500- square- foot building which includes coaches' offices, team meeting rooms, weightlifting facility, home and visitor dressing rooms, equipment storage and laundry facilities and an expanded training clinic that will serve all Northwest athletes. Artwork and graphics throughout the facility, designed by the Northwest Communications staff, feature former players who have played at universities and in the professional leagues. The locker stations in the facility were built by the Northwest Physical Plant staff.

In his welcoming remarks, Dr. Spears noted that while the facility was excellent, having that alone would not win state titles or national championships or send players to compete at the next level or on professional teams.

"Indeed, through the years, the Rangers have consistently proven their excellence by winning football games through the very best coaches and dedicated players, many of whom have gone on to play at major universities and with professional teams. So it doesn't take a building. We have proven that. However, at long last, we now have a complex that matches the legacy of the past and the promise of the future for Ranger football," Spears said.

Visitors also toured the facility from 6-7 p.m. that evening after which the annual "Meet the Rangers" event took place at Bobby Franklin Field.

For more information about the Ranger Football Complex, visit the athletic website at www.nwccrangers.com.

Pictured: A dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Ranger Football Complex at Northwest Mississippi Community College was held on Aug. 24. Pictured left to right are: Northwest cheerleaders Kelsey Taylor, Alexis Redd and Tori Beth Jenkins; Senatobia Mayor Alan Callicott; John Lamar, Jr., board attorney; Tate County Supervisors President, Mike Campbell; Phyllis Powell, Mainline Office; Gale Cushman, president Northwest Foundation Board of Directors; Jay Tindall, CEO, Sycamore Bank; Bobby Dunlap, CEO, Dunlap and Kyle; Sybil Canon, associate vice president of Development and Special Projects; former Ranger Head Coach Bobby Franklin; Northwest President, Dr. Gary Lee Spears; Mike Moore, chairman, Board of Trustees; Athletic Director Don Skelton; Head Football Coach Benjy Parker; Bill Dawson, chairman of Building Committee, Board of Trustees; Calla Basil, cheerleader; Mary Ayers, director of Physical Plant; Doug Thornton, AERC pllc, architect; Mike Moore, C&M Builders, Inc. and Sarah Ewing, cheerleader. (Photo by Brian Lentz)