Bison basketball teams get home court advantage
Zach Urness
Leader Staff
The town of Pablo is finally going to be able to host the Salish Kootenai Bison basketball teams in a new health and education center on campus in August 2007 that promises to be more than just a sports arena.
Construction of the new health and education center — which includes a 2,700-spectator basketball arena, indoor track, weight room, and events center — is currently underway and will give players and fans the chance to enjoy a home court advantage as early as the 2007-2008 basketball season.
Beyond being the home court for the basketball games, it will also be used for health fairs, powwows, continuing education classes, and regional or national conferences.
“It’s much more than just a gym,” said Audrey Plouffe, Chief Financial Officer at the College. “The primary benefit of the new facility will be to offer new health education, physical education, nutrition, and cooking courses to residents of the Flathead Indian Reservation.”
The health and education center is the highlight of the development on the SKC campus that began five years ago and includes a new information technology building and dormitory facilities. Funding for the project came from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Education, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, and from the college itself, with financing through Glacier Bank.
One of the major benefits of the new center is that it should allow SKC’s basketball team to enter Montana’s Frontier Conference, which for Zachary Camel, head coach of the men’s basketball team, has been a long time coming.
“I met with our president and told him I wanted to get into the Frontier Conference here in Montana. They were all for us getting in but were waiting to see what would be done with the gym,” Camel said.
Just as important, both teams will have more of a home field advantage. While their games are just a short drive away at the Ronan Event Center, the coaches are excited about having games right on campus.
“I think the gym is important because it will be our home,” Camel continued. “I believe this will bring the college up to the next level and it will give the students another aspect of SKC to be proud of. It is important to have a place where students, fans, and team members can call their own.”
The new facility will also make day-to-day operation of the teams easier.
“Right now, to get ready for our games, we have to use the Two Eagle High School facilities,” said Juan Perez, director of student life and head coach of the women’s basketball team. “They have been supportive, and we appreciate their support, but at times we have to work around their schedule and we miss practices.”
“I think that having our own facility will allow us as coaches to do more with our players,” continued Perez. “We will have access during the day as well as nights and weekends. It will also allow us to schedule games when we want them and not have to have various venues on the reservation for home games.”