National Park College has named its newly constructed basketball courts the Davis-Coble Family Courts in honor of two families that donated funds for the courts' construction.
The college named the courts at a dedication ceremony that was held following the NPC Board of Trustees' monthly meeting on April 26, when it granted approval for the new name.
The basketball courts, located in the Mid-America Boulevard parking lot across from the Gerald Fisher Building, were completed last month thanks to a donation from the Davis and Coble families, a news release from NPC said.
"Our families' history in education began on a dirt basketball court in Jessieville," said Chris Coble, NPC director of institutional research. "And so, when Nicole (Herndon) approached me about donating and needing money for a recreational court for students, it was a perfect fit for the family. We have looked at several things on campus. And it was a chance for us to invest in our students and the community at National Park with the hopes that we will inspire others in the community to invest in National Park students."
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Coble attended the dedication ceremony held at NPC alongside his cousin Brad Davis. Davis said his father, Harold "Butch" Davis, "just really loved working in the community and some of the underserved areas."
"I've known Chris (Coble) for a number of years, and he's always (been a) sports enthusiast," said Wade Derden, NPC vice president for advancement and government relations. "He's always helping with the college sporting events and just pitching in where he can. He's been a great supporter of the athletes on campus.
"And so, When he and his family were looking for something to do for the campus, for the students in particular, they were talking that over with Nicole Herndon, who's our executive director for our foundation, and the basketball courts just sort of naturally came up because that has always been an interest of his."
One purpose of the new courts, just across the street from Dogwood Hall, currently the only on-campus residential hall, is to provide students with a convenient recreational option, Derden said. Not only will the new courts provide the students with friendship and fun memories, but Derden and Coble also hope they will provide them with success, they said.
"We know for a fact that student life, residential life equals student success," Derden said. "Those go hand in hand. And right now, for students who are living on campus, we're looking for opportunities to grow that resident's life, student life experience. And so, this is just one way that students can have some extracurricular, have some fun, do something on the side."
"Any way that we can help shape, mold, mentor the youth of our area is a bonus for us," Coble said. "And that's the way our grandparents, my mom and (Davis's) dad, lived. Mentor kids, keep them off the streets, help them be successful."
"We just wanted our students who are living there to have a safe space where they could play outdoors," Derden said. "We have, of course, a basketball court on the campus, but when athletes are using it, they're practicing and things like that. So, this just gives an alternative where students can gather and have some resident life experiences."