MILWAUKEE – When it comes to sports, the Stormers aren’t playing around.
And what better way to celebrate the past, current and future successes of the Milwaukee Area Technical College athletics program than with a good old fist-pumping, foot-stomping pep rally?
For the first time in at least four years, MATC students, staff and faculty gathered at the college’s Downtown Milwaukee Campus to generate good vibrations, good cheer and good mojo for the Stormers sports teams.“We’re expecting big things from all of our teams,” said MATC Athletic Director Randy Casey, who also is the head coach of the men’s basketball team. “We’re trying to reach new heights.”
Casey praised the college for emphasizing and expanding its athletic programs, and lauded the hard work of current and past players. “We appreciate all those who came before us to get us to where we are today,” he said.
MATC offers students the opportunity to participate in baseball, softball, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, and men’s and women’s tennis teams under the auspices of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
In the past four years, MATC has moved the men’s and women’s tennis teams to NJCAA Division I competition, and the basketball teams began competing in Division II in 2018. For the 2023-24 season, the college will move all other teams to NJCAA Division II, which means the college can offer students athletic scholarships.
For many students, sports can be a perfect complement to academics, said MATC President Vicki J. Martin, Ph.D., at the rally. “In athletics you learn about yourself, build character and learn how to work with others effectively,” Dr. Martin said. “Athletics will serve you well in all your future endeavors.”
In the spring, the college christened new turf fields at the Oak Creek Campus where the baseball, softball and soccer teams play. And in November 2021, MATC unveiled a new Stormers logo featuring the Greek god Zeus, the ruler of all the Olympian gods and the god of lightning, thunder, law, order and justice.
“Our goal was to develop a complete and unifying brand that not only honors our tradition, but is a powerful representation of who we are and who we want to be,” Casey said last November. “We wanted the logo to be something the entire sudent body could recognize."
This year the men’s basketball team is ranked fifth in the NJCAA Division II preseason poll. Led by Casey, starting his 15th season as head coach and who has been named NJCAA Region 4 coach of the year four times, the Stormers finished 28-6 overall last season, 18-2 in the region and 9-1 in North Central Community College Conference (NC4) play. MATC, which averaged 93.8 points per game, reached the NJCAA Division II national tournament and won one game before bowing out.
The women’s basketball team finished 13-15 last season, 5-5 in NC4 games, and has a new coach this season, Arom Murrell. “I have told my team let’s not hope for a good season, let’s expect a good season,” Murrell said at the rally.
MATC plays home games at Alverno College’s Reiman Gymnasium, at the corner of 39th Street and West Morgan Avenue. Games also will be streamed on MATC’s YouTube channel, said Travis Mrozek, MATC assistant athletic director.
At the pep rally, held at MATC’s S Building and which included free T-shirts and food, Murrell urged students, staff and faculty to support the teams by attending games not only at home, but on the road as well.
“Stormer Nation should be strong wherever we are,” he said.
Find MATC sports schedules, rosters and news here
About MATC: Wisconsin’s largest technical college and one of the most diverse two-year institutions in the Midwest, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a key driver of southeastern Wisconsin’s economy and has provided innovative education in the region since 1912. More than 25,000 students per year attend the college’s four campuses and community-based sites or learn online. MATC offers affordable and accessible education and training opportunities that empower and transform lives in the community. The college offers more than 170 academic programs — many that prepare students for jobs immediately upon completion and others that provide transfer options leading to bachelor’s degrees with more than 40 four-year colleges and universities. Overwhelmingly, MATC graduates build careers and businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.