Young Harris College - Athletics

Athletics

Young Harris' sports teams are called the Mountain Lions. The school currently transitioning from a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) to a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The college originally applied to NCAA in 2010, but the application was rejected. The school re-applied in 2011 and received acceptance into the three year process to become a full member. As of the 2011-12 academic year, Young Harris is the first year of candidacy membership. The college could receive full NCAA membership for the 2014-2015 school year.

In July 2012, Young Harris will become a member of the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) effective July 1, 2012. As part of the transition process into the NCAA, the college will begin NCAA Division II and Peach Belt Conference schedules for its athletic teams and be immediately eligible for all regular-season championships and all other conference awards. During the transition process into the NCAA the college is ineligible for NCAA postseason automatic bids as well as for participation in any PBC Championships which award automatic bids to NCAA Tournaments until the college becomes a full member of Division II. As part of the transition to the NCAA, Young Harris college reinstated its men's basketball program in 2010, bringing intercollegiate basketball to the college for the first time in 40 years; at the same time, YHC added women's basketball. The college plans to add men's and women's lacrosse teams and a competitive cheerleading team starting in the 2012-13 academic year.

Young Harris competes in twelve sports:

The Young Harris Lady Mountain Lions won the 2006 NJCAA Division I Women's Soccer National Championship, under coach Kathy Brown. Women's soccer coach Kathy Brown originally served as the assistant coach at Jacksonville State University, before coming to Young Harris in 1997 and starting the women's soccer team. In just her first season as a head coach, Kathy celebrated her first state championship. Since then she has led the Lady Mountain Lions to seven more state titles. The men's soccer team was a regional finalist in 2006 & 2007. In 1998, led by former coach Jim Thomas, The Young Harris Mens Mountain Lions won the 1998 NJCAA Division I State Soccer Title.

Baseball coach Rick Robinson earned his 500th win at Young Harris in April 2009, and had been highly successful in placing players in Division I schools as a junior college program. The Young Harris Baseball Team has captured eight Georgia Junior College titles and five Region XVII titles since 1999, and advanced to the Junior College World Series 2007. The team has averaged 49 wins per season each year since 2004. The team plays on the Zell B. Miller field.

The school fielded a successful mens basketball team in the 1950s and 1960s, and on November 13, 2010, the sport returned after a 50-year absence. The mens head coach is Pete Herrmann, formerly at the University of Georgia. Women's basketball began at Young Harris on November 15, 2010. Their coach is Brenda Paul.