Moraine Valley Community College history

A year later in 1969, seven temporary buildings opened on the Palos Hills campus, 9000 W. College Parkway.

Moraine Valley's original gymnasium (in Building G) was the first permanent structure built on the campus, opening in 1971.

Gehrke was employed at the college in 1972 as an economics instructor.

However, those sports did not draw as much interest from students, despite the men’s gymnastics team placing third in a state competition in 1973. “They were just really informal meetings of some college teams with the hope something would develop,” Gehrke said.

Moraine Valley Community College officially started its intercollegiate athletics program in 1976.

The men’s soccer team started in 1982, and eventually, both soccer teams used the field.

Later that year, the first stadium field was built on the southwest side of campus for the football team, which started as a club sport before it became intercollegiate in 1990.

In 1996, in its first full year as a member of the Skyway Athletic Conference (now the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference), softball, men’s soccer and men’s basketball won conference championships.

However, the all-campus vote to decide the winner in May 1997 ended in a tie between Cyclones and Hawks.

Second pond established 2001 – Nature Study Area rededicated.

The first extension site, the Education Center at Blue Island, opened in 2004.

Dragonfly monitoring begins 2009 – Prescribed prairie burn.

Removal of invasive European Buckthorn 2010 – Construction of rain garden.