Four-time national champion EMCC Lions honored for 2017 title with ring presentation on Scooba campus

SCOOBA – East Mississippi Community College's fourth national football championship in seven years was celebrated during Saturday night's ring presentation ceremony and dinner banquet held on the Scooba campus.

EMCC football players and coaches as well as administrative and support staff personnel from last year's national championship team were recognized during the 90-minute ceremony in which they were presented separate rings honoring the 2017 NJCAA national championship team members as well as the program's sixth MACJC State/Region 23 title in nine years.  Players in attendance, including some of whom have already started their senior college careers, also received gift bags that included their game jerseys, commemorative footballs and championship T-shirts from last year's NJCAA National Championship Game.

Along with the presentation of championship rings, EMCC players were recognized for their NJCAA All-American, All-Region 23 and MACJC All-State honors from last year's 11-1 season that culminated with a 31-28 national championship victory over Arizona Western College in Mississippi Bowl X played in Perkinston.  With EMCC football radio play-by-play announcer and WFCA Radio production director Jason Crowder serving as the night's master of ceremonies, banquet attendees were also treated to a season highlight video presentation along with speeches from EMCC President Dr. Tom Huebner, EMCC Vice President Mickey Stokes and EMCC head football coach Buddy Stephens.

Presently ranking as the NJCAA's all-time leader in career winning percentage (.883) for coaches with 100 or more career games coached, Stephens will enter the upcoming 2018 campaign needing two wins to eclipse the century mark for career coaching victories while breaking into the NJCAA's Top 10 list among the winningest active football coaches.  Since being hired at East Mississippi in December 2007, Stephens owns a decade-long head coaching overall record of 98-13 as the school's all-time winningest football coach, including composite marks of 56-4 in regular-season MACJC North Division play, 12-3 in MACJC state playoff games and 10-0 in championship contests (4-0 national & 6-0 state).

Now with four national championships during the last seven years (2011, '13, '14 & '17), the EMCC Lions rank as the only school affiliated with the nationally acclaimed Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) to capture four national football titles, as recognized by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).  In addition, EMCC's Stephens became just the second head football coach in NJCAA history to guide four national championship teams, joining Hank Norton of former NJCAA member (now NCAA Division III) Ferrum (Va.) College.  East Mississippi currently trails only Butler (Kan.) and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M for most national football titles (six apiece) in NJCAA history.

The EMCC Lions will begin defense of their national and state football titles by playing host to the Hinds Community College Eagles on Thursday, Aug. 30 to kick off their 2018 season.  Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Sullivan-Windham Field on the Scooba campus.