Some Facts About Trinity Valley Community College

The Lady Cardinals won five national championships with runs of eight consecutive conference titles, six consecutive regional titles,and six consecutive NJCAA title games since 1991. Their five-year record under current head coach Michael Landers is 154-11, including a perfect 36-0 record and national championship in 2004. The team’s NJCAA National Tournament record in 11 appearances is 34-8.

TVCC ranks as a leader among all Texas community colleges in the success of its students who transfer to senior colleges and universities. At senior institutions, TVCC transfer students consistently earn high GPAs and compare well to other transfer students, often earning higher GPAs than do native students at senior colleges.

In the past 10 years, 97.6% of the graduates of the VN program at the TVCC Health Science Center in Kaufman have passed the national licensure exam, the NCLEX-PN and more than 92% of the ADN graduates have passed the NCLEX-RN with 95% passing in 2005.

Several of the College’s programs have received exemplary ratings by their accreditation organizations, including horticulture, associate degree nursing, surgical technology and adult education.

The drama students consistently rate superior or excellent at the Texas Junior College Speech and Theatre Association Play Festival. Numerous drama students have also won individual superior and excellent acting awards at the contest. In 2004, the students advanced to the regional American College Theatre Festival, and in 2005 several students advanced to national forensics competition.

Over the past five years, TVCC has consistently ranked in the top five among all 50 community college districts in the state in percentage of students receiving academic and technical degrees and certificates annually.

TVCC’s developmental education program has consistently ranked in the top 20 percent of all Texas community colleges for successfully preparing students to pass the THEA, earning for TVCC substantial financial awards from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Phi Theta Kappa (Iota Alpha) has won numerous top awards at the international conference over the last eight years, and was ranked third out of 1,200 chapters worldwide in 2004. TVCC students won two of the four Phi Theta Kappa STAR Scholarships in 2000 and two of three scholarships awarded in 2001. TVCC has also placed a student on USA Today’s Academic All-USA second team in 2001 and 2005 and on the Academic All-State team in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

The Student Senate has been named the Most Outstanding Student Government in Texas by the Texas Junior College Student Government Association 12 of the last 17 years.

The Cardinal basketball team holds 12 conference championships, has been a regional finalist nine times and has competed in the national tournament three times. Coach Leon Spencer is the “winningest” junior college coach in Texas history and began the 2005-06 season by earning his 800th career win.

The Cardinals football team has won two national championships and 17 conference championships, has made 16 bowl appearances and holds 20 conference records (SWJCFC and TJCFC). Five former Cardinals played this season on NFL teams.

The Cardinal Cheerleaders were the first junior college squad to compete and win in the National Cheerleaders Association national finals. They have won eight NCA national championships – including back-to-back championship in 2001 and 2002 – and participated in the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics.

The Cardettes are celebrating 45 years of entertaining Cardinal fans this year. They have traveled extensively representing TVCC and Athens, including trips to Missouri, New York, California, Florida, Switzerland and Moscow.

The Cardinal Regiment and Wildcard Swing Orchestra routinely produce All-State performers and compete in various state festivals. In the past few years, the Regiment band has traveled to perform in Branson, Missouri; Dallas, Texas and the State Fair of Texas; New York and California. The swing orchestra plans a trip to Hawaii this spring.

The Choir has performed in the Astrodome, various state festivals, Washington D.C., Walt Disney World. Encore was featured in performances in and around San Francisco, California in 2004. They plan a return trip to Washington D.C. this spring.

Updated 09/16/2005