The Mississippi College Choctaws are the athletic teams of Mississippi College

Mississippi College

Mississippi College, also known as MC, is a private, Christian university located in Clinton, Mississippi. Mississippi College comprises the main campus in Clinton, as well as satellite campuses in Brandon and Madison, Mississippi, and the Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson...

. They participate in NCAA's

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 Division III in the competitive 12-member American Southwest Conference

American Southwest Conference

The American Southwest Conference is a college athletic conference, founded in 1996, whose member schools compete in the NCAA's Division III. The schools are located in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi...

 under the mascot Choctaws and the school colors of blue and gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

. Mississippi College competes in the NCAA in football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

, basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 (men's and women's), baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

, softball

Softball

Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

, tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 (men's & women's), golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

 (men's & women's), soccer (women's), volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

, track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 (men's outdoor & women's indoor & outdoor), cross country running

Cross country running

Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

 (men's & women's), equestrian

Equestrianism

Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

 (women's), and table tennis

Table tennis

Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...

 (men's & women's).

History

The philosophy of intercollegiate athletics at Mississippi College is much the same as the vision statement of Mississippi College. The vision statement reads: "Mississippi College seeks to be a university recognized for academic excellence and commitment to the cause of Christ.”

For years Mississippi College was a dominant force in NCAA Division II athletics. MC won the Division II National Championship in 1989, however, Mississippi College's football tournament participation, along with its NCAA Division II national football championship

NCAA Division II national football championship

The NCAA Division II National Football Championship began in 1973. Prior to 1973, four regional bowl games were played in order to provide postseason action for what was then called the NCAA College Division and a poll determined the final champion....

, were vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions for recruiting violations.

The Board of Trustees of Mississippi College voted in March 1995 for the university to become a member of Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 in the fall of 1997.

Mississippi College currently sponsors 16 sports. Since their transition to Division III in 1997, the Choctaws have won 25 American Southwest Conference

American Southwest Conference

The American Southwest Conference is a college athletic conference, founded in 1996, whose member schools compete in the NCAA's Division III. The schools are located in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi...

 championships. In 2007, the College won conference championships in women's cross country and men's basketball. http://www.ascsports.org/Pdfs/ASC/2007/8/14/ASC%20AllTime%20Champs%2006-07.pdf?tab=champs

Mississippi College's biggest rivalry is with Millsaps College

Millsaps College

Millsaps College is a private liberal arts college located in Jackson, Mississippi. Founded in 1890, the college is recognized as one of the country's best private colleges dedicated to undergraduate teaching and educating the whole individual. Affiliated with the United Methodist Church, Millsaps...

 in nearby Jackson. After a more than 40 year hiatus, the two teams began meeting on the football field again in 2000. The rivalry is dubbed the Backyard Brawl.
Men's

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cross-Country
• Football
• Golf
• Soccer
• Table Tennis
• Tennis
• Track

Women's

• Basketball
• Cross-Country
• Equestrian
• Golf
• Soccer
• Softball
• Table Tennis
• Tennis
• Track
• Volleyball

Athletic facilities

In the summer of 2005 Mississippi College opened new athletic practice fields which support soccer and football. Plans include expansion in the near future which will add an extra practice field as well as two new intramural fields for student flag football, soccer, and general student use.

Choctaw nickname

In a letter dated February 17, 2006 http://mc.edu/newsevents/prnews/user/story.php?id=209, Mississippi College received word that the NCAA has removed its policy restrictions in the use of the name Choctaw

Choctaw

The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...

 for MC athletics.

Lee Royce, President of the college said, “We are pleased with the ruling from the NCAA giving their approval of our request to remove Mississippi College from the list of institutions subject to the policy’s restrictions. We are very appreciative of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians

Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is one of three federally recognized tribes of Choctaw Indians. On April 20, 1945, the tribe organized under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. Also in 1945 the Choctaw Indian Reservation was created in Neshoba and surrounding counties...

’ support of our use of the Choctaw name, and look forward to continuing our mutual relationship of respect and cooperation.”