91ÊÓÆ”

July 10, 2025

Renovations to 91ÊÓƔ’s Keyes T. Currie Coliseum are expected to improve the game-day experience for fans and help with the basketball programs’ recruiting efforts, among other things.

The husband-and-wife team of Magnus and Jenny Johannson of Viking Floors LLC were recently putting the final touches on the new hardwood floor in the Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on EMCC’s Scooba campus, wrapping up the first phase of renovations at the gym and multipurpose room that has served as the host site for countless events in its roughly 40 years of service.

“This is one of the neatest floors we have ever done,” Jenny Johannson said. “We really like the design and your color palette.”

The Johanssons had already applied multiple coats of polyurethane over the gray flooring and painted the border, free throw lanes and three-point lines for the basketball court in EMCC’s signature red and black colors. On this day, they were applying Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference and National Junior College Athletic Association stencils, with an EMCC logo at the basketball center court and “East Mississippi” and “The Currie” stamped in opposing baselines.

That work is now done.

Work at the gym began in 2024 with the installation of new bleachers that can be retracted when not in use. Both the ceiling and walls were painted and new strobe lighting was installed that can be programmed to flash multiple colors to synchronized music.

“The fans are going to love it,” head women’s basketball coach Isaiah Butler said. “With the light shows we will be able to have during intros and timeouts and at halftime, there will be more interaction with the fans that will keep them energized and excited the whole time.”

Other upgrades include an automated camera for livestreams and a large LED screen that can serve as a scoreboard while simultaneously broadcasting replays. Both EMCC’s men’s and women’s basketball teams will host home games at the newly renovated facility when their seasons opens in November. There is also a new digital scoring table and seating for EMCC athletic staff and the media.

EMCC partnered with Path Company, a U.S. Department of Energy approved ESCO, or energy services company, to assess potential energy-saving improvements. Based on their assessment, energy-efficient LED lighting and improved HVAC systems were installed.

“I am excited for our coaches. This is really going to help them out with recruiting. The fan experience is going to be unmatched,” said EMCC Dean of Students/Director of Athletics Sharon Thompson, who previously served as head coach for EMCC’s women’s basketball team for 17 years, with four years as the assistant coach prior to that.

Men’s basketball coach Billy Begley said players come to EMCC not only for educational opportunities, but also because of the basketball program’s success.

“They want to come here because of the opportunity it provides them to go on from here,” Begley said. “The renovations are really going to help because kids can come to our games, experience the atmosphere and know they can be a part of that. It doesn’t even look like the same gym with the renovations and when our players are on the court now, it will literally be like being on stage, like they are part of the show.”

The roughly $2 million cost for the project was funded through EMCC local funds and capital improvement money available through the Mississippi Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management.

“We are grateful to our EMCC Board of Trustees and our state legislators,” EMCC President Dr. Scott Alsobrooks said. “Projects like this would not be possible without their support. We are always looking for ways to improve the quality of life for our students and these renovations to Keyes Currie Coliseum will go a long way in that effort. Our basketball programs are popular and there are other events that take place in that building.”

The college was able to defray costs by having some of the renovation work done in-house by EMCC District Director of Facilities Planning and Management Kyle Younger and his maintenance staff.

“Kyle has done a tremendous job with upgrades to all of our athletic facilities,” Thompson said. "Kyle has been the main person doing all of the behind-the-scenes stuff that people don’t see.”

Named in honor of Hall of Fame EMCC basketball coach and school administrator Keyes T. Currie Sr., the coliseum was constructed towards the end of former East Mississippi Junior College President Clois Cheatham’s tenure. He served as president from 1976 to 1987.

The gym is filled with graduates and well-wishers during fall and spring commencement ceremonies and many student events take place in the facility, including intramural basketball tournaments and presentations by guest speakers.

Recently, movie night for students on the residential campus was moved from Stennis Hall Auditorium to Keyes Currie Coliseum where the movies are played on the large LED score/instant replay board.

“We turn the lights off and that board lights the whole gym up,” Thompson said. “It’s just like being in a movie theater.”

Members of the men’s and women’s basketball teams practice in the coliseum, as does EMCC’s cheerleading team, which conducts stunt clinics, youth cheer camps and other events in the facility. Plans are to eventually add a women’s volleyball team – a first – and lines for a volleyball court were added to the floor during renovations in advance of that happening. 

Future plans also call for relocating the entrance to Keyes T. Currie Coliseum from the current location adjacent to Kemper Street to the back of the building facing Everett Street. Eventually, locker rooms for the men’s and women’s basketball teams, which are located in the building, will be expanded and renovated, as will the coaches’ offices.

“We have the best fanbase and college atmosphere in the MACCC and these renovations are really going to put us over the top when basketball season rolls around,” Thompson said. “I am most excited for our coaches and student athletes and the opportunity for them to compete for more championship banners to be hung in our fantastic facility.”