This Fall, Hudson County Community College (HCCC) will embark upon an exciting new chapter in its 50-year history with the advent of men’s and women’s basketball competition. HCCC will compete as a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 15 Division III, comprised of community college teams primarily from New York City, Long Island and surrounding areas, and New Jersey. Besides beginning men’s and women’s basketball games this Fall, HCCC plans to have men’s and women’s volleyball teams competing in Fall 2027, followed by additional varsity teams to be added over the next five years.
HCCC, Valley Forge Military College, and Wor-Wic Community College were recently welcomed as NJCAA members during the April 2026 NJCAA Convention in Kansas City. The schools were approved through the Association’s membership review process and accepted during the Board of Regents meeting held as part of the annual convention, where governance, strategic priorities and membership actions were considered.
“Membership in the NJCAA and the inauguration of our athletics program is a dream come true,” said HCCC President Dr. Christopher Reber. “This is a giant step forward for the College, one the entire community will enjoy and benefit from.”
“The NJCAA is excited to welcome Hudson County Community College to our membership. During our initial collaboration with HCCC Athletic Director Jonathan Sisk, and while our campus visit team was in Jersey City in January, the entire staff at Hudson County Community College made it very apparent that they are vested in supporting collegiate athletics,” said NJCAA Vice President for Championships, Membership, and Sports Governance Dr. Brett Monaghan. “We look forward to continuing to assist HCCC as they develop their athletic department and join our membership in providing opportunities to over 65,000 student-athletes nationwide.”
Dr. Reber said the HCCC athletics program will be headquartered in the College’s Center for Student Success, which is currently under construction on the Journal Square Campus. Set to open this Fall, the 153,186 square-foot, mixed-use tower boasts a full-size NCAA gymnasium, fitness center, walking track, and athletic training facility. The Center also includes 24 classrooms, expanded student services areas, black box theater, health science labs, conference rooms, offices, and a university center for baccalaureate and graduate instruction. Until construction is complete, HCCC will play basketball at Hudson County High Tech High School in Secaucus.
In February, HCCC hired two head basketball coaches with winning records who are committed to player development. HCCC Head Coach for Men’s Basketball Ethan Nardone and Head Coach for Women’s Basketball Carlos Cueto are preparing for play this fall by evaluating and recruiting potential student athletes, assessing opponents, and creating practice plans and game strategies. The Coaches are responsible for managing their programs; monitoring student athletes’ academic progress; promoting a culture that fosters academic achievement; developing character, sport skills, and athleticism; and protecting the programs’ integrity.
“The Hudson County community and HCCC are very happy to begin our journey within the NJCAA,” said HCCC Athletic Director Jonathan Sisk. “The community has been waiting with bated breath for an opportunity to support athletics at HCCC and the NJCAA provides the perfect opportunity to provide that resource to our student-athletes and community.”
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About Hudson County Community College
Hudson County Community College serves more than 24,000 credit and non-credit students annually. The College offers more than 90 degree and certificate programs, including award-winning English as a Second Language; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); Culinary Arts/Hospitality Management; Nursing and Health Professions; and Humanities and Social Sciences. The HCCC Culinary Arts/Hospitality Management program was ranked number six in the U.S. by Best Choice Schools. The College’s School of Continuing Education and Workforce Development offers cutting-edge, industry-recognized, stackable credentials in alignment with high-priority workforce needs.
HCCC has partnerships with major four-year colleges and universities in the greater New Jersey-New York area and beyond, accommodating seamless transfer of credits for further undergraduate and graduate education.
The College has received dozens of national awards throughout the years. HCCC was a finalist in seven categories of the 2026 American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) “Awards of Excellence” and earned 2026 Advancing Institutional Equity and Belonging, Faculty Innovation, and Faculty of the Year Awards, in addition to Dale P. Parnell Faculty Recognition. HCCC also earned AACC 2024 CEO of the Year, Faculty of the Year, and Student Success Awards of Excellence. In 2023, HCCC received the Outstanding Member-Institution Award from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU).
For the sixth consecutive year, HCCC was selected as one of only a few community colleges in the United States to be named a “2026 Most Promising Place to Work in Community Colleges” by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD). HCCC was one of 22 community colleges in the nation, and the only college in New Jersey to be recognized by ModernThink LLC and the “Chronicle of Higher Education” as a 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2022 “Great College to Work For®” and named to the 2024 and 2023 “Great Colleges Honor Roll of Distinction.”
HCCC is one of two colleges in the United States to be named a Top Ten Finalist in all three program categories of the nationally recognized 2023 Bellwether Awards, and received the 2023 Bellwether Award for the College’s cutting-edge “Hudson Scholars” program, which also won the 2024 Bellwether Legacy Award. HCCC further earned the 2026 Bellwether “Best in Showcase Award.”
The College’s exemplary work in advancing student success has been recognized with “Leader College of Distinction” designation by Achieving the Dream, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing community colleges as catalysts for equity and mobility in their communities. HCCC also earned the Campus Prevention Network Seal of Prevention in 2025, 2024 and 2023 for demonstrating leadership in digital prevention programming focused on student safety, well-being, and inclusion.The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) named the College the inaugural recipient of the 2025 ACCT national “Impact and Success Award.”
About NJCAA
Since 1938, the NJCAA has served as the premier governing body for two-year collegiate athletics, providing student-athletes with opportunities to prepare, compete, succeed, and achieve in both their academic and athletic disciplines. The NJCAA is the second largest national intercollegiate athletic organization in the United States, with over 500 member schools, 60,000 athletes and 3,400 teams competing in 28 different sports. Each year, the NJCAA sponsors 57 national championships and invitationals.
