NJCAA Release | Hutchinson CC Release

CHARLOTTE, NC – Former Hutchinson Community College football coach and player Rion Rhoades has been selected to be inducted into the NJCAA Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the national office announced on Friday.

Rhoades and former Iowa Western quarterback Jake Waters make up the induction class of 2025. Both Rhoades and Waters will be honored at the 2025 NJCAA Division I Football championship game on December 17 in Canyon, Texas.

Rhoades is the 13th coach of a Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference school to be inducted into the NJCAA Football Hall of Fame and third player, coach, or contributor from Hutchinson to earn the honor. The last inductee from Hutchinson was former Blue Dragon wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson (2010-11) who was inducted as part of the 2019 class while contributor Dr. Jack Mull was inducted as a contributor as part of the 2019 class. In total, the KJCCC has had 21 players, 13 coaches, three contributors, and three teams inducted into the NJCAA Football Hall of Fame since the induction of the first class in 1995 (a full list of KJCCC inductees can be found here: NJCAA Football Hall of Fame – KJCCC Inductees).

In Rhoades' 13 years as head coach, Hutchinson made 10 postseason appearances and reached its first NJCAA number one ranking in team history in 2019. Over his 13 years at the helm of HCC, Rhoades was 99-50 with the Blue Dragons, ranking second in victories on the Blue Dragons' all-time coaches list, becoming the fifth-winningest coach in KJCCC football history, and compiled a 14-year coaching record of 106-55 (.658 winning percentage).

Under Rhoades, Hutchinson had 200 All-Conference selections including 62 first-team selections, 26 NJCAA All-America honorees, including 11 first-team All-Americans and the 2008 NJCAA Defensive Player of the Year in Eugene Kinlaw.

Rhoades had 239 student-athletes go to a four-year program and 16 student-athletes selected in the NFL Draft or signed as an undrafted free agent.

Rhoades also coached Alvin Kamara, a three-time Pro Bowler and former Rookie of the Year for the New Orleans Saints and Cordarrelle Patterson, who was the first Hutchinson player to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

As a player for Hutchinson, Rhoades was a part of Sam Pittman's 1993 recruiting class. The 5-foot-11, 220-pound linebacker from Liberal jumped into the starting lineup right away and tallied 138 tackles in his freshman season. He helped the Blue Dragons finish 6-5 overall, place third in the Jayhawk Conference, and clinch a home Jayhawk Conference playoff game for the first time in school history. The Dragons advanced all the way to the Jayhawk semifinals, which clinched the team's first bowl berth since 1971 with a spot in the 1993 Valley of the Sun Bowl in Glendale, Ariz.

Rhoades was an All-Jayhawk Conference honorable mention selection in 1993.

The fortunes of the Blue Dragon program continued to improve in 1994, and Rhoades was right in the middle of the success. Selected as one of five team captains for the 1994 season, Rhoades proved to be a perfect leader for new head coach Andy Hill, leading the defense with 130 total tackles, 64 unassisted. He was third in tackles for loss with 12 and again earned honorable mention all-league honors.

The 1994 Blue Dragons finished 15th in the final NJCAA poll and finished with an 8-4 record, the program's third-straight winning season. The eight wins were the most since 1972 and HCC again qualified for a bowl game, the 1994 Valley of the Sun Bowl against Mesa Community College (Arizona).