In his first eight seasons as coach of the East Mississippi Community College football program, there is little question Buddy Stephens has created a national image.
The Lions have won three National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national championships and made headlines on and off the field.
Even still, the program has found new platitudes to explore.
This morning, Netflix debuted a series entitled “Last Chance U” that examines EMCC’s rise to national power, with an emphasis on Division I transfers, given a new chance at a football career in Scooba.
“Certainly a tremendous opportunity for our program,” said Stephens, who has won 76 games and seven Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) North Division titles. “It was a couple of years in the making. They were given complete access to the program, including practices, meetings, academic settings, and games. It was a great chance to showcase our program and the impact it has had on so many lives.”
Produced by One Potato Productions, Conde Nast Entertainment, Endgame Entertainment, and directed by Greg Whiteley, the series was inspired by Drew Jubera’s feature “Last Chance U”, which appeared in the October 2014 GQ.
“At East Mississippi Community College, the desire to improve the quality of life for those who walk through our doors is part of our mission and serves as a tangible and daily reminder of the fundamental importance of our work,” EMCC President Dr. Thomas M. Huebner Jr. said. “One can not watch this documentary without having a strong sense that EMCC is a place where we expect much from those who entrust their futures to us.”
Each season, MACJC 55-man rosters, include eight out-of-state signees. Many of these include Division I transfers such as C.J. Reavis, who was removed from the Virginia Tech football program in the spring of 2015, played the 2015 season at EMCC and is now at Marshall.
“A lot of us want a chance to play football,” Reavis said in a November interview. “The time here can really help you grow as a football player and as a man, too.”
While EMCC posted 12-0 records and won the program’s first three national championships in 2011, 2013, and 2014, the 2015 season proved anything but ordinary.
EMCC saw a 25-game winning streak snapped in loss at Copiah-Lincoln C.C. in the second week of the season. Stephens was later suspended for one game after an altercation with an official during a Homecoming win against Itawamba C.C.
The season ended prematurely following a benches-clearing brawl in a 48-0 win at Mississippi Delta C.C. The game was halted in the final minute of the first half. The season ended a few days later when the MACJC banned EMCC from the state playoffs.
“Considering the school’s recent success, and after meeting some of the people from Scooba, we felt chances were high that we would be filming one of those special seasons,” Whiteley said. “What we ended up capturing was something none of us could’ve ever predicted.
National film crews were on hand and caught everything on film. It has been suggested some unique footage of the altercation at Mississippi Delta will be seen for the first time in the documentary. Once again this season, EMCC begins the season ranked in the top five and is a favorite to win the NJCAA national title.
Huebner praised the positive nature of the work and thought the program was spotlighted in a positive manner, despite some of the struggles.
“While the film is about football, the same commitment and passion we have for our athletics program is also evident in our commitment to everything we do,” Huebner said. “It does an outstanding job capturing the raw complexity of the people and the processes associated with performing at a high level of excellence.”
All six parts of the series were released at midnight and are available exclusively to Netflix subscribers.
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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