Ranger College future: Athletics first helped attract students

19 Feb, 2011 Learning Today Students

Athletics have played a big role over the years in attracting students to a town of about 2,500 people between Abilene and Fort Worth.

The school has long been oriented toward athletics, said former Athletic Director Ron Butler.

“When you look at this small community, you’ve got to have programs to attract students,” Butler said. “We were very strong athletically. Kids from all over the state would come here.

“It’s hard to convince a kid he can’t complete at college level. They could come to Ranger College and we would let them have the opportunity to make our athletic teams. Consequently, they would meet friends and have lot in common with and maybe some of them didn’t graduate but at least they were in a college environment for a semester or two.”

One example Butler tells about is recruiting a girls basketball player from Baird in the late-1960s.

“I went into this neighborhood and it was worse than the ghetto. I knocked on the door and she said I know why you are here, but I’m not going to college,” Butler said. “To make a long story short, she attended Ranger, and later on went to Tarleton and has been a teacher in Dublin since she graduated. Ranger gave her an opportunity. Had she not been approached by a recruiter, she would not have gone to college.”

Another reason Ranger has been able to recruit students is its affordability, said Johnny Gann, dean of campus support services.

“We are the most affordable school in Texas,” he said. “A turn-key job — room, board, tuition and fees — is $7,400 a year.”

Less emphasis is placed on athletics now, said Dr. Bill Campion, president of the community college. Football has been dropped, and more performing arts groups, such as a show choir, ha ve been formed. The main campus in Ranger has six dorms, but more students attend campuses in Brownwood/Early and Stephenville.

Over the years, a number of notable athletes have attended Ranger, including baseball players Ellis Burks, who gave money for a ballpark at the college; Jimmy Morris, the oldest rookie in the major leagues and inspiration for a movie; and Donnie Moore, who had a 43-40 record over 13 seasons in the major leagues.

Butler said when he was coaching basketball at Ranger College his son, Ron Butler Jr., who is now president and CEO of First Financial Bank played for him.

“At the same time he played there was a kid named Billy Gillespie who played, and later was head coach at Texas A&M and the University of Kentucky. My son told me one day a few years ago, ‘Dad, you always didn’t want me to go into athletics and go into coaching because I couldn’t make any money.’ He said, ‘I just I read in the paper where Billy signed for $3 million.’”

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