THE HISTORY OF GREYHOUND ATHLETICS…

Arkansas State University Mid-South's beginnings can be traced back to April of 1992 when the Board of Trustees hired Dr. Glen Fenter as the first president of Mid-South Community College. But it wasn’t until the spring of 2010 that athletics became a reality as former Arkansas Razorback and NBA Development League coach Andy Stoglin approached Dr. Fenter about starting a basketball program.

The athletic department began with a press conference on June 1, 2010, as MSCC announced it would be known as the Greyhounds thanks to a $250,000 donation by Southland Park Gaming & Racing. Jason Carmichael was announced as the program’s first athletic director while Andy Stoglin and Chris Parker were hired to complete the coaching staff. Stoglin took the head men's job, Parker served as head women's coach, and they each served as the assistant for the other.

MSCC was accepted into the National Junior College Athletic Association for their first season in 2010-11 and competed in Division III while offering no athletic scholarships. Thanks to the school districts in West Memphis and Marion, “home” basketball games were played in the high school arenas while the teams leased a private gym off-campus for practice. Following that first season, Russell Hill was the first Greyhound to sign an NCAA Division I scholarship to Southern University, Stoglin returned to Mexico to coach professionally and Parker took over as head men’s coach while West Memphis-native Kimberly Turner was named the women’s coach.

Following their second year of competition, the Greyhounds moved to NJCAA Division II status for the 2012-13 seasonand began offering athletic scholarships. Parker was named Athletic Director in January, 2013, and MSCC broke ground on the 34,650 square foot Wellness Center which would contain a gym, locker rooms, a training room, fitness center, classrooms and offices.

On October 22, 2013, the athletic department moved into their new home and then hosted their first games in “The Dog House” on November 1 in the inaugural Greyhound Tipoff Classic. The Greyhounds recorded the first victory in the new facility by topping a tough Mid-Continent University team by a final score of 98-95 to go 1-0 on the season. The Lady Greyhounds won their first home game just days later on November 4, 2013, by defeating Shawnee Community College, 95-56.

Both the men and women would go on to win their first-ever NJCAA Region 2 Championships in 2013-14 before falling in their respective District Championship games. When a coaching vacancy opened right before classes began in August, 2014, Stoglin stepped in again to help the program as Interim Women’s Coach for the 2014-15 season.

The men's program continued to blossom with a record 18 wins in 2014-15 as all five sophomores and one freshman signed scholarships with four-year colleges. That spring, Kierra Adams became the first Lady Greyhound to sign a NCAA Division I scholarship to Jackson State University and Sonja Tate was hired in April, 2015, to lead the Lady Greyhounds. 

MSCC President Dr. Glen Fenter stepped down on June 30, 2015, and the Wellness Center was renamed in his honor and became the Glen F. Fenter Athletic Complex. At the same time, Mid-South Community College accepted an offer to merge into the Arkansas State University system and became Arkansas State University Mid-South on July 1, 2015. To stay connected to the school he built from its inception, Dr. Fenter moved into an advising role of President Emeritus, and Dr. Debra West was named to lead ASU Mid-South as the college's first Chancellor.

The 2015-16 season saw both programs continue to rise as the men won 18 games for the second consecutive year while leading the nation in rebounding and finishing sixth in assists and seventh in scoring. The Greyhounds again sent all five sophomores and a freshman to four-year colleges including two NCAA Division I signees. And winning nine games in Coach Tate's first year at the helm, the Lady Greyhounds set the record for wins in a season.

In 2016-17, both programs won their second NJCAA Region 2 titles and sent players to four-year colleges. The men set a new record for wins after going 20-10 while the Lady Greyhounds had their first winning season with a 15-13 record.

The 2017-18 season saw Dwayne McCray take over as Interim Head Coach of the Lady Greyhounds and finish 10-15 against a strong schedule. Parker, in his seventh season as Men's Head Coach, led the Greyhounds to their third NJCAA Region 2 Championship in five years, their first NJCAA District XIII Championship, and the their first NJCAA National Tournament where they finished fifth in the nation with the best record (29-6) in school history. Dee Montgomery was named ASU Mid-South's first All-American and first to play in the NJCAA National All-Star Game in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Trevor Banks was the first Greyhound to be named to the All-Tournament Team at the National Tournament. Both Montgomery and Banks signed with NCAA Division I schools, and four other Greyhounds moved on to four-year colleges.

The 2018-19 season was cut short for the Lady Greyhounds due to a shortage of student-athletes after going 0-10 to start the season. The men, however, continued their success with a 22-9 record and their third consecutive Region 2 title before falling in the District XIII Championship game. Jalen Lynn was named All-Region First Team while Shaheed Halk, Christian White and Zach Byrd were named to the Second Team.

In 2019-20, the women finished 7-21 against one of the toughest schedules in Divisoin II and placed Aaliyah Lee on the All-Region First Team while Ashley Pegue and Adrianne Chambers were named to the Second Team. The men won their fourth Region 2 title in a row on the way to a 25-8 overall record and placed Jalen Lynn and Ike Moore on the All-Region First Team and Zach Byrd on the Second Team.

With a global pandemic shortening the 2020-21 season, both programs had their schedules cut by a third. However, the Lady Greyhounds set nearly every program record in finishing 25-2 overall, taking their third Region 2 title, winning their first South Central District Championship, and placing seventh in their first-ever trip to the NJCAA National Tournament. The Greyhounds finished 16-5 after falling in the Region 2 Tournament Championship as both teams finished the season ranked in the NJCAA National Poll for the first time in school history.

Then in the 2021-22 season, both programs finished as regular season runners-up before the Lady Greyhounds finished 17-10 in the region tournament semifinals while the Greyhounds overcame an injury-plagued year to finish 14-12 before losing in their tenth consecutive region tournament championship game.

The 2022-23 season was another stellar one for the Greyhound men as they captured their fifth Region Championship in the previous seven years, won the Region Tournament Championship, the Central Plains District Championship and advanced to their second NJCAA National Tournament in the last six seasons where they finished eighth in the nation. The women's team saw first-year Head Coach Addie Lees have only three weeks to recruit a team and end up winning the Region Tournament Championship before falling in the District round.

Now in 2023-24, the Greyhounds will be led by Cody Hastings, who served the previous four years as assistant coach, after Chris Parker departed to become Director of Athletics at NCAA D-II Christian Brothers University in Memphis, and Tysia Manuel begins her first season leading the Lady Greyhounds.

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