Northeast
Sports
Sports Information Director Blake Long
One of northeast Mississippi’s native sons has returned to the area to take over the role of Assistant Public Information Officer and Sports Information Director at Northeast Mississippi Community College. Blake Long, a native of Tishomingo County, accepted the position in August 2013 – taking over from M. Joseph Miller, who had held the title for the previous five years. Long is no stranger to the northeast Mississippi region or Northeast Mississippi Community College and graduated from the Booneville-based college in 2011 with an associate of arts degree with an area of concentration in communication… mainly journalism and other related programs. During his time at Northeast, Long was instrumental in helping to get the student newspaper, The Beacon, back in print and served as the periodical’s sports writer during his time in Booneville. When not writing for The Beacon, Long dedicated his time to the Northeast baseball team serving countless hours in the field house at Harold T. White Field at Booneville City Park as the team’s top-ranking manager. While Long was a member of The Beacon’s staff, he was awarded the College Public Relations Association of Mississippi’s (CPRAM) annual scholarship based on his writing capabilities and recommendations by current CPRAM members. Long parlayed his managerial skills with the Northeast baseball team on the four-year level where the Tishomingo County High School graduate served as a manager for the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) women’s softball program for two months. During his time under Windy Thees at Ole Miss, Long had the pleasure of visiting almost
While most of Long’s work featured mainly var-
sity athletes, Long ventured from the high school realm to aid the newspaper in its coverage of the local junior college sports scene as well. Long is a graduate of Tishomingo High School where he starred on the baseball diamond for his father and long-time Brave baseball and softball coach Jerry Long.
Blake Long
every venue in the Southeastern Conference – with the exception of the University of Florida and University of Kentucky complexes – and clocked miles across the country with one of the top softball programs in the Magnolia State. Long earned his Bachelors of Arts in Journalism with an emphasis in print journalism and a minor in history while at the University-based college and used his experience in the sports world to begin a stringer career for various local media outlets. One of Long’s main writing positions was a contributing sports writer role with the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal in Tupelo where the Northeast alum was able to gain valuable skills and expertise such as multi-tasking, meeting deadlines, teamwork and leadership attributes. During his time with the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal and its parent company Journal Inc., Long had the opportunity to cover a variety of sporting events throughout the northeast Mississippi region from swimming to ice hockey to the Mississippi High School Activities Association’s (MHSAA) Bowling State Championships.
Under his father’s tutelage, Long helped lead the Brave baseball team to the MHSAA Class 4A North Half Championship Series against Vicksburg in the spring of 2008. When not working, Long enjoys the annual “Long Family Vacations” where the Tishomingo County native and his family visit various sporting icon arena such as the Major League Baseball (MLB) Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Long Family Vacations have also seen the TCHS graduate end up on the west coast and earned him one of his more prized stories – being able to interview former New Albany High School catcher Eli Whiteside as Whiteside and the San Francisco Giants made a push for a World Series Championship. In total, Long has visited all 48 continental states during the “Long Family Vacations.” Long is a member of Maud Church of Christ. Long is engaged to former Lady Tiger softball player Leslie Hendrix and the pair is planning a June 2014 wedding.
“TIGERS”
When Northeast was founded in 1948, Bonner Arnold served as physical education instructor, men’ basketball coach and athletic director. Arnold and legendary University of Kentucky Wildcat men’s basketball coach Adolph Rupp were friends and as a result of this friendship and the success of the Kentucky basketball program, Arnold wanted the school’s athletic teams to sport a similar nickname. “Fighting Tigers” was adopted as the school’s mascot. Later, the school’s athletic program grew to include men’s and women’s varsity sports. “Fighting” was dropped and the teams became known as the “Tigers” and “Lady Tigers.” 14
Northeast Mississippi Community College