District Governor International President
Jim Springer Ray Klinginsmith
Columbia, Tennessee Kirksville, Missouri
Today, we get a look into the upcoming season of the UTM Skyhawk Men’s Basketball Program as we welcome second year Head Coach, Jason James.
Coach James was named the program’s eighth head coach on June 5, 2009 after spending the last seven years as an assistant coach, which also included the role of associate head coach during the 2008-09 Ohio Valley Conference championship season.
Coach James posted several positives during his debut season as bench leader at UT Martin in 2009-10 against arguably one of the toughest schedules in the history of the program. He is also the second-youngest NCAA Division I men’s basketball Head Coach.
James came to UT Martin from Forest Park Community College in St. Louis, Mo., where he was an assistant men’s coach for two years. The team finished second in the region James’ first year.
Coach James earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education and health with a coaching endorsement from Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa. While playing basketball there he was voted Graceland Freshman Basketball Player of the Year for the 1996-97 season and was named the team’s MVP during the 1999-2000 season.
James recently married the former Dani Walker of Oxford, MS in May of 2010 and the couple are expecting their first child in February 2011.
Next week, it’s local high school basketball, when UCHS Coaches Shane Sisco and Eddie Suiter make their annual visit to U.C. Rotary for the purpose of previewing the 2010-11 basketball season.
Coach Sisco is a 1988 Graduate of Union City High School. He earned a BS Degree from UTM in 1992, where he was a member of the UTM Mens Basketball Team from 1988 to 1992. He served as a Graduate Assistant at UT Knoxville 1992-93. Coach Sisco has been at Union City high School the last eleven years, and is starting his twelfth year as Head Boy’s Basketball Coach.
Coach Suiter is a graduate of Martin Westview High School and went on to receive a BS Degree from UT Martin in 1992. He Received his Masters Degree from there in 1998 with an Education Major. He has been teaching and coaching for the past seventeen years. This is his second year at Union City high School as the Girls Head Basketball Coach, prior to his debut here, he was Head Girl’s Coach at Obion County Central, leaving there with an overall 124-47 record, and won at least 21 games per season.
Last Week, Monica Shumak, General Manager and CEO of WLJT TV in Martin was guest speaker, leaving Rotarians with some history, outreach, and goals of the station.
We learned that the station began broadcasting in 1968, at the time the State of Tennessee managed all of the public television stations and did so until 1984. Now there are six public television stations in Tennessee consisting of Memphis, Jackson, Nashville, Cookville, Chattanooga, and Knoxville. Channel eleven, which is the local station is affiliated with the Jackson Station.
In 1984 the West Tennessee Public Television was formed, including the University of Tennessee at Martin, with their transmitter located between Lexington and Jackson. In 2004 digital broadcasting was introduced. The station is strictly non-profit and all contributions are spent as a direct benefit of their viewers.
The station broadcasts both local and national program schedules. She had high praise of the local contributions and encouraged the audience to spend some time viewing the channel, especially if you have children, mentioning the great educational programs which are broadcast. The Station also broadcasts local sports, including Collegiate and High School, mostly Football and Basketball games of local interest. She mentioned also the news program which is mainly in conjunction with The Jackson Sun.
"The facility serves sixteen counties in Tennessee, basically from River to River excluding Shelby County", she said.
She put special emphasis on the Children’s Programs broadcast, which is mainly Saturdays and Sundays, and the purpose of these programs is to motivate the child and encourage them to excel in school.
She discussed a few of the programs which are directed toward adults, including history programs and others.
Coming Attractions
