Gulf Coast State College is a

public college A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Route 98 in Florida, U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee and Pensacola, Florida, Pe ...

. It is part of the

Florida College System The Florida College System, previously the Florida Community College System, is a system of 28 public community colleges and state colleges in the U.S. state of Florida. In 2020–2021, enrollment consisted of 640,183 students. Together with th ...

and offers the Associate of Arts degree, Associate of Science degree, certificates, and as of 2011, bachelor's degrees.

History

The institution was founded in 1957 by the Florida Legislature. On January 13, 2011, the college was renamed Gulf Coast State College. The school had previously been named Gulf Coast Community College as well as Gulf Coast Junior College. In 1966,

Rosenwald Junior College Rosenwald Junior College, located in Panama City, Florida, opened its doors in 1958. It was one of eleven black junior colleges founded in the late 1950s at the initiative of the Florida Legislature. Since racial integration in schools was prohib ...

was merged with Gulf Coast Junior College.

Campus

The main college campus is in

, with other campuses in Southport, Port St. Joe, and at Tyndall Air Force Base.

Organization and administration

The college is a member institution of the

. Its president is John Holdnak, Ed.D. President Holdnak is its sixth, having assumed that position in June, 2014. A District Board of Trustees oversees the administration of the college.

Academics

Gulf Coast State College offers associate and bachelor's degrees.

Student life

Athletics

Gulf Coast State College Athletic teams are nicknamed the

Commodores Commodores, often billed as The Commodores, are an American funk and Soul music, soul group. The group's most successful period was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Lionel Richie was the co-lead singer. The members of the group met as m ...

and participate in 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 (appro ...

, men's baseball, women's

, women's

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 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 ...

. The school's athletic teams compete in the

Panhandle Conference The Panhandle Conference is a conference within the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 8. The conference consists of four state colleges and one community college located in Florida. Members Member institutions are Chip ...

of the

Florida State College Activities Association Florida College System Activities Association Incorporated (FCSAA) is the governing body for all extracurricular activities of the member schools of the Florida College System. Activities include athletics, Brain Bowl, forensics, music, publica ...

, a body of 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 ...

Region 8.

Notable people

Daniel Davidson Daniel Gerome Davidson (born January 8, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Davidson is 6 ft 4in tall and weighs 225 lbs ...

- Former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher *

Tony Dawson Antonio Ray Dawson (born August 25, 1967) is a retired American professional basketball player. At a height of tall, and a weight of , he played at the small forward position. High school Dawson was born in Kinston, North Carolina, and he atte ...

- Former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player * Vontrell Jamison - Former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

player * Smoke Laval - College baseball coach of Louisiana–Monroe,

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, and

North Florida North Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regi ...

* Frank Menechino - Former

infielder for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

and the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

Michael Papajohn Michael Papajohn (born November 7, 1964) is an American character actor, stuntman and former college baseball player for the LSU Tigers baseball team. He played Dennis Carradine in Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Man'' trilogy. Early life Papajohn was ...

- American actor, stuntman, and college baseball player *

Jimmy Patronis Jimmy Theo Patronis Jr. ( ; born April 13, 1972) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Florida's 1st congressional district since April 2025. A member of the United States Republi ...

Chief Financial Officer of Florida The chief financial officer of Florida is an elected statewide constitutional officer of Florida. The office was created in 2002 following the 1998 reforms of the Florida Cabinet. The CFO is a combination of the former offices of comptroller and ...

, State Fire Marshal, and member of the Florida Cabinet. *

Don Sutton Donald Howard Sutton (April 2, 1945 – January 19, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sutton won a total of 324 games, pitched 58 s ...

- Former

player and television sportscaster. Holds the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

all time wins record (233), and held the Dodgers strikeout record (2696) for 42 years. *

Terrance Gore Terrance Jamar Gore (born June 8, 1991) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played college baseball at Gulf Coast Community College. He made his MLB debut in 2014 with the Kansas City Royals and also played in Major League ...

- MLB player who won three World Series rings: the

2015 World Series The 2015 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2015 season. The 111th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion New York Mets and the American Lea ...

with the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

, the

2020 World Series The 2020 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 2020 season. The 116th World Series was a best-of-seven-playoff between the American League (AL) champion Tampa Bay Rays and the National League (NL) champion Los An ...

with the

, and the

2021 World Series The 2021 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2021 Major League Baseball season, 2021 season. The 117th World Series was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) c ...

with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. * Matt Foster - Current MLB player for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Said Sharbini Said Sharbini is an American politician who served as a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from January 9, 2023, until his resignation on December 31, 2023. He represented Colorado's 31st House district. Colorado House of Representa ...

(fl. 2022), American politician *

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

- Current

pitcher who won three consecutive World Series rings with the

2021 Atlanta Braves The 2021 Atlanta Braves season was the 151st season of the Atlanta Braves franchise, the 56th season in Atlanta, and the Braves' 5th season at Truist Park. The Braves were managed by Brian Snitker, in his sixth season as the team’s manager. T ...

2022 Houston Astros The 2022 Houston Astros season was the 61st season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 58th as the Astros, 10th in both the American League (AL) and AL West division, and 23rd at Minute Maid Park. ...

, and 2023 Texas Rangers

References

External links

* Education in Bay County, Florida Universities and colleges established in 1957 Florida College System Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools 1957 establishments in Florida Buildings and structures in Panama City, Florida Two-year colleges in the United States {{Florida-university-stub