Lake Land College

Lake Land College
Type	Public, 2 year Community College
Established	1966; 55 years ago
President	Dr. Jonathan “Josh” Bullock
Students	4,466 (Fall 2019)
Location	Mattoon, Illinois, United States
Campus	Rural, 308 acres (124.6 ha)
Newspaper	The Navigator
Colors	Red and Black;
Athletics	NJCAA Division I; Great Rivers Athletic Conference
Nickname	Lakers
Mascot	Laker Louie
Website	Official Website

Lake Land College is a community college in Mattoon, Illinois. The college was founded in 1966. As of the Fall 2019 semester Lake Land serves 4,466 students, mainly from the east-central Illinois region, in various two-year programs. Lake Land students can earn a degree for immediate employment or use the training to prepare for further university education, often at Eastern Illinois University. The average age of the students is 23.5 years.

The 308 acres (1.25 km²) campus has seven major buildings plus eight supportive buildings, two campus ponds, and a 160 acres (0.65 km²) agriculture land laboratory. There is also a child care lab, a cosmetology clinic, and a library. The campus is designed as a large circle; the major buildings are also circular. They are clustered in the center with park areas and parking lots surrounding them.

History[]

Lake Land's creation was first approved in 1966 by a referendum in 13 public school districts centered on Mattoon. The first classes were held the following year in various buildings throughout the town. The first president of the college was Virgil H. Judge. Construction on the college began in 1971 and continued in phases throughout the 1970s.

Academic programs at Lake Land College include Agriculture; Allied Health; Business; Humanities; Math & Science; Technology and Social Science & Education. Other coursework programs include the Cisco Networking Academy, Computer Troubleshooting, Physical Therapist Assistant, Desktop Publishing Graphic Design, Radio-TV Broadcasting, Raster Geographic Information Systems, and Psychiatric Rehabilitation. Lake Land College also recently started an ROTC program. Over 150 courses are offered online.

Athletics[]

Lake Land College sponsors teams in two men's and three women's NJCAA sanctioned sports:

Men's sports	Women's sports
Baseball	Basketball
Basketball	Softball
	Volleyball

The Lakers have won one NJCAA National Championship which happened in 2021. The women’s basketball team finished 24–2 and defeated Johnson County Community College 53–49 to win their first national championship.^[2] The Lakers have had several trips to the NJCAA National Tournament. The Lakers are known for making runs within the Great Rivers Athletic Conference (GRAC), and Region 24 Tournaments. The most successful programs at Lake Land are softball and women's basketball, particularly for their high number of NJCAA National Tournament Appearances.

The majority of Lake Land Athletics are played at Laker Fieldhouse. Laker Fieldhouse plays host to Women's Basketball, Men's Basketball, and Women's Volleyball matches. Lake Land has other facilities used for baseball and softball matches, which are officially named Laker Baseball Field and Laker Softball Field.^[3]