By STEVE CARPENTER - Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The long-awaited start to Blue Dragon Athletics is Friday night when the Hutchinson Community College women’s and men’s basketball teams tip off.
Unfortunately, the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic will keep fans out of the Sports Arena and all Jayhawk Conference venues for at least the first two weeks of the season.
The conference voted in December to start the season with no fans in all sports at all venues league wide.
“We are excited to have the opportunities for contests for all our student athletics,” Blue Dragon Athletic Director Josh Gooch said. “They have worked extremely hard to get to this point.
“Our coaches, athletic trainers and staff have followed stringent protocols to get to this point.”
The current no fans policy will run through February 5. The KJCCC will meet before that to either extend the ban or allow fans.
“We will update fan availability as soon as we know anything further,” Gooch said.
The Blue Dragon women’s basketball team is set to open the season at 5:30 p.m. on Friday against the Bethany College Junior Varsity at the Sports Arena and the Blue Dragon men will play host to Seminole State at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Blue Dragon volleyball opens the season on the road at Garden City and will open at home against Pratt on Thursday, January 28.
The Eagle Radio Sports Team comprised of Steve Carpenter, voice of the Lady Dragons and Glen Grunwald, voice of the Dragons along with their color commentator Dan "Coach Nac" Naccarato will provide all the action on the Flagship station KHUT, Country 102.9fm as well as streamed on the Hutchpost.com app.
The Blue Dragon Sports Network will stream all Blue Dragon home events. All other KJCCC schools will have streaming platforms when Blue Dragon teams are on the road.
Fans can find that schedule at: https://bluedragonsports.com/information/Athletics_Tab/BDSN_Schedule
“Although no in-person fans are allowed at this time, we hope that Blue Dragon Nation will follow all the games on BlueDragonSports.com and our social media platforms,” Gooch said.