Erin Neumann, Interim Executive Campus Dean, and BJ McGinn, Athletic Director, Boone Campus, DMACC, August 17, 2026

On our program today we’re going to be talking about the Des Moines Area Community College, DMACC, the Boone Campus, Aaron Newman, the interim executive campus dean. It’s back. Good to have you back. Thanks, good to be here. And you brought you brought company with you. Yes. Athletic director extraordinaire. Yes, DJ McGinn. Hey, nice to be here. Hey, if you have as good a year this last year as you had in this coming year, you will be. Uh oh, then the recruiters will be after them. So, yeah, okay. DJ, it was what a year for DMACC athletics activities. It was really a big year. No, it really was. And just to thank you to all our coaches and our players, trainers, sports info, people, administration, faculty, staff. I mean, that’s what drives this whole thing. Because you had to figure out a way to work together in unison to be able to move things forward and do the things that we want to do and do the fun stuff. So, but yeah, we had a quite the year. You know, all the programs had a great amount of success. You know, and yeah, and academically as well. You know, we had 112 kids are over a three point Iowa conference all region. We had 50 and the national scene make three point six nine or above. And nine of our teams were all over a three point. So that’s what we’ll take that against anybody in the country. That’s always been one of the things to you always like. They have they are student athletes, student athletes. Right. No, that’s that’s that’s part of the the whole protocol when we go out to go hire a coach is they need to understand that that’s a priority for us. And the students know that too. They want to do that when they don’t come here. And that’s pretty much how we approach it. And those coaches do a great job of holding those kids accountable and making sure they’re getting their their work turned in and where they need to be because we want to get them graduated and moved on to a four year school. Sure. And again, you do have it’s like you said, it’s a team effort because you have faculty that are involved. Whatever needs to be done to and you get study halls or study sessions the whole bit. Yeah, no, we do. And our instructors are amazing. You know, they’re willing to sit and put extra time in with our students. You know, and our kids, you know, they have unique schedules, you know, in fact, you know, they’re going to be on the road some so they’re going to miss during the day. So they may have to make something prior to going on the road or, you know, meet to do something extra when they return. And then you get into the spring sports where you can’t control the weather, right? As we have seen recently here. Can you control it for fall sports? Right. Right. But you know, so like, schedules are constantly jumping around. And we have no control over that nor does anybody that has athletics in the nation, right? So we have to figure out a way to work with everyone and keep everybody in communication. And they do a good job of that. I think they really make efforts to do that. And I think that’s one of the reasons that we’ve been able to have success. Okay. Well, as we get to the right now to the basically start of fall softball, okay, I’ll call it what it is. Sure. Fall baseball and softball season coming. Well, you got cross country and stuff too. And volleyball, of course, is going, but the camps, everything else sounds like they were very well attended, very popular. Yeah, no, our summer camp. So men’s and women’s basketball, as well as volleyball, we’re all very well attended. You know, I think Blake had about 110 campers at the boys camp. Joss was in that 50 range and Danielle with volleyball was in that 50 range. So, so that was very good. And then we get into the fall seasons of it. Golf will do some indoor stuff with some individuals in our practice facility. And then softball has camps probably starting in November, you know, every Sunday, you know, from about three to, you know, from, you know, usually 10am to, you know, 4pm. And baseball get their Wednesday night stuff going with a lot of the local high schools. Sure. So, so yeah, we’re at full swing. You know, we’re bringing in probably 1200 kids a year. And that’s not counting the fall baseball league that has about 200 players in that. And then also the fall basketball league that Blake runs with the men’s program. So, so we got people coming and going quite a bit. That’s okay. That’s, we like that. We like to be busy out there. Yeah, no, it is. And that didn’t even mention, you know, we have the Boonew soccer league that plays out there as well, which I’m sure you’ve attended some of those. Oh, yeah. I think I’ll be back too. Sure. But I mean, and that’s, and that’s a great, you know, working relationship that we have with the community to give those kids an opportunity to have a place to play. Boy, do they ever run hard. Are we having soccer soon? Not yet, huh? We are, you know what, I just got a refrigerator fixed, concession stand, and I’m working on some facility issues that arose this morning. So, we’re going to attack those things first, and then we’ll worry about expansion further down the road. Well, Aaron, the last time you were here, we talked about because you were just getting ready for rag ride to come and visit, speaking of somebody getting rag ride to come to your house. BJ was there part of that committee, but you had a lot of people on campus, basically camping on campus. Yeah. The Boone campus was a primary camping site, and so we had, we’d canceled classes for the day, right? But we had the campus open for riders, and we had a great amount of volunteers, both employees and an alumni and some current students. And we had, we should have kept track, but we had, I mean, hundreds and hundreds of people were through the building, maybe buying food at the cafe, taking advantage of the showers that were offered with the golf programs. It was a great experience, and people were very just friendly and happy to be there. We were glad to have them there. I think everybody was happy. It wasn’t a 110 feet index, so that helped immensely, but you had a lot, I mean, you had a lot of campers, I mean, actual RVs, one of the primary areas for RVs. Yeah, no, it was. I believe our camping units, as we had assigned from Dave Sherry and the spreadsheet, we were about 3,400 people, and the concrete piece had all the RVs, and it was full. It looked like a tailgate party at Iowa State. Sure. I mean, it was, there’s a lot of folks there. That’s okay. Now they can, we know how we need to tailgate for some of the activities coming up out there. Hey, there we go. We have it like that. So again, a lot of people out there, again, a lot of inside in the quarter center stuff, didn’t really get a chance to go into the field house, I’m sure. Probably had other things blocking that off. Yeah, we really tried to focus on quarter center so people could have food if they wanted to, have access to air conditioning, and then the shower area. We did interestingly have one rider who came in after that long ride and asked if they could use our workout facility, which was pretty impressive, but yeah. Well, I suppose, yeah, they could see it through the, they could see it through the front. Hey, can we go in there? Yeah, admirable. Yeah, well, not after that ride. Maybe come back here after and bring somebody who wants to be a student too. Yes, absolutely. A lot of our volunteers did a great job of greeting people and also slipping in information about DMACC anyway, they could because a lot of people aren’t familiar with DMACC, right, or, or they weren’t sure exactly what the bootcamp is. Right. Yeah, I’m guessing a lot of them haven’t been through to see the fact that what’s this got the field house out there now and everything. So that’s all something new and some of them may have been familiar with the Borgansquare, the apartments and stuff. But again, it’s been something that they probably not quite that familiar with. Yeah, absolutely. There were certainly some people who came through who no boon or maybe took a class there a long time ago. But yeah, many people were seeing it for the first time or seeing it in its current beautiful state. You didn’t have this when I went here. Exactly. We did hear that. Yeah. We heard that more often, more than once. Especially if there were any of them that had been athletes, what you have your own ball fields now, you guys, you know, this is all something new for. Yeah, no, it was. And we received a lot of comments from folks that were coming through that were a lot of alumni, actually, that just enjoy the opportunity to kind of see, you know, how things have evolved over time. And it was good. You had a chance to come in and see where what’s going on inside the all the new parts. Well, let’s see what else we got. We are getting, of course, getting ready now for school back in session. We have a fall semester getting ready to start. So what’s been happening gearing up for that? Well, we’re always excited, you know, that a lot of the athletics teams move in ahead. So a lot of them are currently here already or will be moving in in the next weekend. So housing is almost back to being completely full again after the summer. I was going to say volleyball playing soon, if not already. Yep, they compete. They compete Friday. Okay. Up in Mason City. Cross country. That’ll be the first, I believe, weekend in September. But they’re already back getting ready. They’re already running. Are you kidding? Yes. They passed the truck going down the road. Yeah, they are quite good, too. So they’re going to have a chance to do some things again this year. All right. So a lot of those already going on going on and we’re really in, you know, full swing gearing up for the fall semester, which starts August 26. So a couple more weeks until we’re back at it in the fall semester with classes again. For registration, things like that. Most of that already taken care of and I’m pretty sure that going through the offices and stuff like that. A lot of that’s already set up, but still have time for final ones, I’m guessing. Yeah, absolutely. If someone’s interested in either like the high set program starting that out, that high school equivalency or wants to look at college options, we could certainly help them explore their options and decide if August 26 is a great starting time or if we might want to look more like October a little bit later. Yeah, everyone’s a little different with what they need. What they need. And I’m thinking because I remember what was it just last week, I believe it was, there was the labor shed thing that was going on. And I, at least I know you probably were keeping pretty close tabs on what was happening with that. Yeah, I just actually came, I was telling BJ, I just came from a discussion of the labor shed results for Boone and Boone County right before this. Because she does all that work stuff, gets them put into those work things there. No, but it was fascinating to see, yeah, the community, both who’s coming into the community to work and who’s leaving the community for work. And again, how you fill that need, there’s always a big challenge with that too. Some of the, so that part, those are some of the things going on as you get ready. What kind of kickoff activities are going on? Because you usually have different activities coming up. Do you have like orientation or what’s happening with all of those kinds of things? Well, we certainly have, we have some kickoff activities and some of them are specific for housing students. We do a lot throughout the year, but especially early on to get them engaged and knowing each other. So that starts off with a bonfire on Sunday night and competition events in the square there on Monday. And then a student faculty brunch, and that wouldn’t just be for students. That would be for anybody who is currently a student or interested in becoming one. That’s the 25th, Tuesday the 25th in our quarter center from about 1030 to 12. So we’ll cut over the noon hour. Yeah. We’ll have that going. Yeah. And then on the 26th, the first day of the semester, we have a resource fair in the quarter center again. So that’s a great place to come in, you know, talk with an advisor, talk with our mental health counselor, nursing, tutoring services, library services, those sorts of things that are all free to DMACC students. So do we at the early part, the first couple of days? No. I know previously sometimes we don’t like to get students enrolling late, but can they still come in? Because I know you don’t like to have them starting after. Right. Too much after the classes. Right. And that, like you’re saying, that really has to do with not wanting to start someone off feeling behind in their courses. You know, everyone is a little bit different. But I would say, you know, if someone came that first day of the semester, we could certainly help them with applying for admission and understanding the financial aid process and then maybe planning out getting those things in order. Yeah. And then planning out when we maybe would start some classes, but we have people there who can specifically help with that and get through all that. So other things that are happening then. Otherwise. Yeah. Full steam ahead with the fall semester and all that comes with it. All of those things happening. Did want to ask about your food pantry because I keep asking about things like that. I know about those. I appreciate it. Still have that. And once again, part of the food bank of Iowa for distributions. Yeah. Part of the food bank for Iowa this semester. We’re trying. We have a lot of volunteers and some work studies students helping out. And so we’re trying to expand our hours. So we’re going to be trying to be open Monday through Friday at different times for two to three hours a day. So

and I didn’t bring those hours with me. I should have brought those. But typically, those are going to be kind of late morning to early afternoon, like 11 to two things like that. And then as always, if someone wants to shop in our pantry and our hours don’t work for them, they can certainly reach out to the front office or call us and we can meet them by appointment. But you’re right. And you always mention that it’s open to the community. It’s not just for DMX students, although many, many use it. Yeah. A lot of students see it because got to go get ramen or something. I don’t know. Exactly. It’s kind of like my grandson. Can’t get enough ramen. Yeah, it is popular. Yeah. I know. It just keeps going. So again, those going on. You mentioned high set. Of course, that is again, for those that everybody thinks GED, that’s what it used to be called. High set is the new process. But we’ve done it on the Boone campus now a number of years. Right. And there is still an opportunity for people to get it and get it signed up for the program or participate if they have not completed school. And this might be their opportunity. Yeah, their opportunity to finish that high school equivalency program. Yeah. What I love about I love several things about high set. But one thing I love is that we have great instructors who can really work with people one on one with the skills they need, whether that’s math or reading those sorts of things to help them with their testing to get that award or credential. But I also love that it’s always there’s always a new start coming, right? So they’ll be starting that in mid or late August here on the 26th. But if someone is interested in high set, and they don’t make that date, they’ll be starting again in October, you know, so they just they always have something coming up to help people on that path. We’re gonna say a little more structured than what it used to be. Which has helped out. I think it’s proven to be very beneficial. Yeah, I think it helps to have that. So BJ for for sports activities and stuff. Now, what let’s talk about seniors getting for some of your events. Do you can get some passes, things like that? Or how do you handle our aging population? Well, I think what we just that’s at the gate. I mean, it’s just 62 and over gets admitted for free. I mean, we don’t really have to go get a pass anymore. And I tell our students that are working, we’re not going to ID people. So just use your best judgment and, you know, let them in. And we do the same thing for kids like five and under. And then the admissions for everyone else is, I believe, $5, which I just have kept it at that. Since we for years and years, a lot of places you go, it’s going to be 10 in the league. But I just keep everything. We want people to come. We want families to come. We do a lot of nights where, you know, we’ll let high schools in with their school, you know, sweatshirt on or shirt or something, or bring in some different teams from the county and around just to give them an opportunity to come as a group. We get to basketball. I know you work with the Heart Association. We got a lot of different I mean, you tie a lot of different activities for things that are going on. Yeah, no, we do. And, you know, we host volleyball, two men’s basketball and women’s basketball tournaments, you know, in October, November. She gives us opportunities to work with different sponsorships and those type of opportunities in game promotional things. So we try to mix and match some different stuff, be creative. You know, I work with Amanda on some things with student activities. And, you know, we kind of do those things in conjunction and tie some different things in, which kind of helps, you know, get the housing students involved. And they’ll do different theme nights, you know, is it superhero night or we might have where your favorite jersey night or and then a lot of those SAC to SAC group are the ones that initiate, you know, those things. And so it gives them the opportunity to be in some leadership roles and do some different stuff. So we all kind of, like I said, to begin, we’ll kind of work together to kind of tie in a great experience for our students. And that’s at the end of the day, you know, while all of us are in higher education is to, you know, get the kids what they need to have be successful. So we do have activities that are going on again, as far as volleyball really is. Okay. So let’s talk about how, how do we repeat all of the success we’ve had? Again, coaches got to be pretty pumped up. And I’m guessing you had such a good season, recruits probably were attracted to some of the sports we’ve got. Yeah. I mean, and having, you know, been here for for quite a while and just seeing the evolution over the last two decades, you know, that that is something, you know, obviously, it starts with getting the right people, the coaches in the seats, because those are those kids got to play for. And then you have to retain those people. And we’ve done a good job of, you know, providing them what they need to, you know, one of your then provide them, you know, what they need for their, you know, just to run their programs, you know, and then obviously getting housing, you know, my first guy in the first year in 2006, but having that across the street and not having them spread out through town or, yeah, or wherever. That helps. And having to track them down, you know, and so having that available, you know, like you said, the facilities, getting the ball fields on campus from scattered around town and having to run back and forth to try and, you know, manage those things from the Little League Park to the Memorial Park, right? So, and then obviously the field house was a big addition, you know, and then all of a sudden you start doing well, athletically, all of a sudden now you’re doing well academically, now all of a sudden this is, you know, an excellent option. If I’m a high school student looking for a place to go, we’ve developed it into, you know, a collective department where, you know, and obviously the academic piece of it and the student services things that we offer for, you know, activities like Aaron was talking about back to school stuff that’s going on. So all those things together put us in position to have success. And like I said, I just tell people we’re going to get the coaches on the bus, they get the players on the bus and I’m just going to drive and put gas in the tank. So just keep going. Keep going forward. And again, one of the challenges, you know, and I remember when it was Kirkwood and everybody else and then all of a sudden now it’s, now it’s everybody. It’s kind of a free-for-all for you guys. You know, we got to be one of the more competitive, at least athletic conferences in junior college. No, we definitely are, you know, it starts our league office with Tom McDonald. You know, we’re recognized as the best region in the nation and if we’re not the best, we’re tied for first is what we always like to tell people. But just the way it’s professionally run and, you know, everybody steps up and there’s good leadership at all the institutions that make sure that, you know, we’re getting the game fields, you know, traded on time and not getting fined, you know, where we have officials and they’re not out in the, you know, hog confinement bar and changing. We got them in locker rooms, you know. So those are things that we really strive to do a good job of and our league definitely does those things. Aaron got a lot of opportunities for people. Hopefully they got signed up in advance. Now, if somebody, there’s for a lot of those students that are going to be seniors, juniors or seniors that might start to want to look at, do I want to consider DMACC or something? Easy to come out there and schedule time to find out more about what’s going on. Yeah, absolutely. Whether it be athletics, indoor, whatever. But is this a place for me to start? Can I go this way? What if I’m in the honors program and things like that? Yeah, absolutely. We have Christina McIntyre is one of our main people that helps with those things and student services. So, yes, people can come and they can say I’m interested in this sort of academic program or I might be interested in honors or I want to talk to baseball or anything like that. And she can really coordinate those things. She can give tours, help with the financial aid process and understanding that and really help with kind of understanding all the different pathways and opportunities we have at DMACC. Oh, yeah, the financial aid things. And filling out the paperwork, all the new things you got with those to keep track of, too. Well, we’re looking forward to a great fall semester. Anyway, we’ll visit with you next month and then find out how things are going as we get it kicked off. But 2026 for the classes or activities that are activities start or Wednesday. It’s going to be busy out there, folks. You’re going to see a lot of things. Yes, you will. All right. So when’s the restaurant open? The cafe. They’re currently open now. They’re open Monday through Friday from gosh, 730 to one, roughly for breakfast and lunch. Because we have a crowd that likes to come out there and have breakfast. We do. And we love that. Yes. So and that will continue. Yes. All right. Thanks for joining us. Thank you. Thanks, Jim.