Central Arizona College (CAC) 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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

near Coolidge, Arizona. CAC serves the population of

Pinal County Pinal County is a county in the central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. According to the 2020 census, the population of the county was 425,264, making it Arizona's third-most populous county. The county seat is Florence. The county was est ...

History and campus

Central Arizona College was founded in 1969. With five campuses and three centers located throughout the county, campuses include: Signal Peak, located in Coolidge, Arizona, Aravaipa, located in Winkelman, Arizona, Superstition Mountain, located in

Apache Junction, Arizona Apache Junction (Western Apache: Hagosgeed) is a city in Pinal and Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,499, most of whom lived in Pinal County. It is named for the junction of the Apache Trai ...

, Maricopa, located in

Maricopa, Arizona Maricopa is a city in the Gila River Valley in Pinal County, Arizona, United States. With 66,290 residents as of 2022, Maricopa is the largest incorporated municipality in Pinal County. History Maricopa has had three locations over the years: ...

, and San Tan, located in San Tan Valley, Arizona. The three centers include The Casa Grande and Corporate Centers, located in

Casa Grande, Arizona Casa Grande (O'odham language, O'odham: ''Wainom Wo:g'') is a city in Pinal County, Arizona, Pinal County, approximately halfway between Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, Tucson, in the U.S. state of Arizona. According to the 2020 ...

and the Florence Center, located in Florence, Arizona.

Organization and administration

Jacquelyn Elliott became President/CEO of Central Arizona College on July 1, 2016.

Academics

The college offers an array of academic degrees and certificates, career training and personal enrichment classes. Online and university transfer courses along with continuing education classes and workshops are also offered, providing learning opportunities for community members.

Sports

The mascot for Central Arizona is the Vaquero/Vaquera for women's teams (vaquero/a is Spanish for cowboy). Their colors are gold and green. They participate in the

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

, the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference, and the

Western States Football League The Western States Football League (WSFL) is a defunct American junior college football league for schools in the states of Arizona, Idaho, New Mexico and Utah that existed from 1985 to 2018. The league was part of the National Junior College Athle ...

. CAC competes in Division 1 in the NJCAA. The Vaqueros have won 39 National Titles. CAC fields 10 intercollegiate teams, five for men and five for women. Men's sports at Central Arizona College include

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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 (appro ...

, cross country,

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

and

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 vaqu ...

. The Vaqueras women compete in

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

, and cross country,

and

Notable alumni

* Tony Barnette, professional baseball player * Matt Brase, professional basketball coach * Brent Gaff, professional baseball player * Scott Hairston, professional baseball * Rich Harden, professional baseball player * Mike Hrabak, professional basketball player * Zepherinus Joseph, runner * Ian Kinsler, professional baseball player * Todd Kohlhepp, convicted

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

* Bob Lacey, professional baseball player * Obed Mutanya, distance runner * Matt Pagnozzi, professional baseball player * Tom Pagnozzi, professional baseball player * Bridget Pettis, professional basketball player * Donald Sanford, American-Israeli Olympic sprinter * TJ Shope, member of the

Arizona House of Representatives The Arizona House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Arizona Senate, Senate. The House convenes in the le ...

* Josh Spence, professional baseball player * Dan Wheeler, professional baseball player

References

External links

Official website

Official athletics website
{{Coord, 32.9557438, -111.6526577, display=title Community colleges in Arizona Education in Pinal County, Arizona Universities and colleges established in 1969 1969 establishments in Arizona Two-year colleges in the United States