College of Southern Idaho (CSI) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...

Twin Falls, Idaho Twin Falls is the county seat and largest city of Twin Falls County, Idaho, United States. The city had a population of 51,807 as of the 2020 census. In the Magic Valley region, Twin Falls is the largest city in a radius, and is the regional ...

. It also has off-campus programs in

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...

, Hailey, Burley and Gooding. Until the foundation of the

College of Western Idaho College of Western Idaho (CWI) is a public community college in Southwest Idaho with its primary campus locations in Boise and Nampa. CWI also offers classes at several community locations throughout the Treasure Valley. It is one of four compr ...

in 2007, CSI was one of only two comprehensive community colleges in Idaho, along with

North Idaho College North Idaho College (NIC) is a public community college in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. It has an enrollment exceeding 6,000 and is situated at the north end of Lake Coeur d'Alene near downtown Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and Tubbs Hill, Coeur d'Alene, Idah ...

in Coeur d'Alene. College of Southern Idaho offers associate of arts, associate of science, associate of applied science degrees, and technical certificates in over 115 disciplines. Additional upper-division courses through the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

Idaho State University , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

, and

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

are also offered. CSI's enrollment is approximately 7,000 students with an additional 3,000 in non-credit courses. Approximately 85% of the student body is from Idaho's

Magic Valley The Magic Valley is a region in south-central Idaho constituting Blaine, Camas, Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka, and Twin Falls counties. It is particularly associated with the agricultural region in the Snake River Plain located ...

region. The college is governed by a five-member board of trustees elected at large by voters in Twin Falls and

Counties.

History

The region was originally served by the

Southern Idaho College of Education Albion State Normal School was a public institution of higher learning the western United States, located in Albion, Idaho. Established by the Idaho Legislature in 1893, it was one of two normal schools in the state. (The other, in Lewiston, i ...

(SICE) in

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...

, which closed in 1951. Although proposals for a junior college in southern Idaho were made as early as 1952 and courses were offered at the short-lived Southern Idaho College in Buhl in the early 1960s, it wasn't until the

Idaho Legislature The Idaho Legislature consists of the upper Idaho Senate and the lower Idaho House of Representatives. Idaho is divided into 35 legislative districts, which each elect one senator and two representatives. There are no term limits for either cha ...

passed and

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Robert Smylie signed the Junior College Act in 1963 that the foundation of what became the College of Southern Idaho began in earnest. In November 1964 voters in Twin Falls County formed a junior college district under the provisions of the Junior College Act. Neighboring Jerome County joined the district in 1965. CSI held its first classes at

Twin Falls High School Twin Falls High School is a public secondary school in Twin Falls, Idaho, one of two traditional high schools operated by the Twin Falls School District. School history Twin Falls High School was founded in 1907. Citizens passed a bond in 1909 to ...

later that year. In 1967, a men's basketball program was founded at CSI by

Eddie Sutton Edward Eugene Sutton (March 12, 1936 – May 23, 2020) was an American college basketball coach. A native of Bucklin, Kansas, Sutton played college basketball at Oklahoma A&M (later Oklahoma State) and was a head coach at the high school, junio ...

, who later became a prominent basketball coach at

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

and

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. The CSI men's basketball team has consistently been a national contender at the community college level ever since. Home games routinely sell out season after season and rank as one of Twin Falls' main entertainment draws. Since moving to its own campus in 1968, CSI has been one of the fastest-growing colleges in Idaho. It has also become a vital part of the Twin Falls area, both culturally and economically. Major campus buildings are named for the college's first two presidents, James L. Taylor (1965–1982) and Gerald R. Meyerhoeffer (1983–2005).

Student life

Most CSI students commute from off-campus. A single on-campus residence hall houses approximately 250 students. Approximately 58% of the student body is over the age of 21. College and community activities are regularly held at the College of Southern Idaho Fine Arts Center, the Herrett Center for Arts and Science, and the Eldon Evans Expo Center. Frontier Field hosts a variety of community softball leagues during the summer months. Student government is administered by the Associated Students of CSI which is controlled by a student senate elected from the student body. CSI sponsors approximately 50 student clubs and organizations.

Athletics

The College of Southern Idaho Golden Eagles compete in Region 18 of the

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

(NJCAA). As of 2009 CSI has won a total of 11 NJCAA national championships, including titles in women's

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, men's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and men's

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. The Golden Eagles

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

team has won an additional three national championships in the

National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA), based in Walla Walla, Washington, was established in 1949. The NIRA sanctions more than 100 college rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practice ...

. Founded by

in 1966, CSI's men's basketball program is one of the most successful at the community college level, claiming to be the winningest junior college program in the United States. Between 1967 and 2007 CSI posted a total record of 1158-217, made 23 national tournament appearances and won the NJCAA national title three times. In that period the Golden Eagles have never had a losing season. The Golden Eagles' 137-game home winning streak between December 1984 and January 1992 is the longest for a men's basketball team at any level in collegiate sports.Meyers, Stephen
"Two Decades Later, CSI’s Winning Streak Stands"
''

Times-News ''Times-News'' may refer to: * Times-News (Idaho), ''Times-News'' (Idaho), a newspaper published in Twin Falls, Idaho * Times-News (Burlington, North Carolina), ''Times-News'' (Burlington, North Carolina), a newspaper published in Burlington, North ...

'', January 31, 2012. (accessed January 31, 2012) Although CSI failed to make the NJCAA national tournament in 2007-08, the Golden Eagles continue to command a strong reputation nationally. CSI began the 2008-09 season ranked third in the nation in preseason polls. The Golden Eagles won their third NJCAA national championship in 2011. The women's volleyball team was particularly dominant in the 1990s, winning a remarkable 190 consecutive matches between 1994 and 1997 and seven national titles in eight years between 1993 and 2000. The program won its NJCAA Division I record ninth national championship in 2009, breaking its tie with Miami Dade College. CSI won its 10th championship in 2012. After reinstituting the Golden Eagle cross-country and track program in 2017, CSI Head Cross Country and Distance Track Coach Lindsey Anderson led the Golden Eagle women to a fourth-place finish and the men to a sixth-place finish at the NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in 2018. That year, she also coached the men's individual national champion. Her teams have consistently placed in the top ten throughout her time at CSI, with the men finishing second in the nation in 2020 and the women winning the NJCAA National Championship in 2021. Coach Anderson received several coach of the year awards by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, most recently as the 2021 NJCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Coach of the Year.

Notable alumni

Deishuan Booker Deishuan Booker (born December 29, 1996) is an American basketball player for Treviso Basket of the Lega Basket Serie A. He played college basketball for Gillette College, the College of Southern Idaho, and California State University, Long Be ...

(born 1996), basketball player in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

Pierre Jackson Pierre Deshawn Jackson (born August 29, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the College of Southern Idaho and Baylor Univ ...

(born 1991), basketball player *

Artsiom Parakhouski Artsiom Parakhouski (born October 6, 1987) is a Belarusian professional basketball player for Śląsk Wrocław (basketball), Śląsk Wrocław of the Polish Basketball League, PLK. Standing at , he plays at the Center (basketball), center position. ...

(born 1987), Belarusian basketball player *

Adrian Royle Adrian Royle (born 12 February 1959) is a retired English long distance runner born in Manchester. He is notable for running exceptional times on difficult courses, making race organizers think the course had been mis-measured. Early life Royle m ...

, distance runner * Bruce Skaug, member of the

Idaho House of Representatives The Idaho House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Idaho State Legislature. It consists of 70 representatives elected to two-year terms. The state is divided into 35 districts, each of which elects two representatives to separate se ...

David Thirdkill David Thirdkill (born April 12, 1960) is an American retired basketball player. He played in the NBA, and was the 1993 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP. NBA career He was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the first round (15th overall) of th ...

, NBA basketball player; 1993

Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP The Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP, or Israeli Basketball Super League MVP, is an annual basketball award that is presented to the most valuable player in a given season of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, which is the top-tier lev ...

References

External links