Longtime Coach and Wife Honored

Colis and Dolores Campbell Activity Center Dedicated

The Campbell Activity Center was officially dedicated Friday morning during chapel with a capacity crowd in attendance. A ribbon-cutting ceremony that included the Campbell family and many of the honored guests from the community preceded the dedication. Named in honor of Colis and Dolores Campbell, who served at YC in a number of capacities from 1958 to 1975, the 15,600 square-foot student activity center was funded entirely by an anonymous donor.

Although Dolores was unable to be at the ceremony because of poor health, Colis, along with daughters Betty Lou Knowles (YC1969) and Pattie Sue Edwards (YC1975), and their families were in attendance. Former players of Coach Campbell’s, Charlie Watts and Kenny Kaaiohelo, both from the 1965 conference championship team, were able to give their own special honor to the Campbells during the program.  A portrait of Colis and Dolores, painted by YC art professor Leaf Moore, was unveiled during the ceremony and now hangs in the center’s lobby.

Located near the northeast corner of campus, the Colis and Dolores Campbell Activity Center will provide space for sports team practices, intramurals and student activities. It will also house daily chapel, making it one of the most used facilities on campus. News-Times article

Colis and Dolores Campbell have a long history of ministry. After Colis earned degrees in Bible and physical education from Harding University, they served as missionaries in Tokyo, Japan for seven years. Returning stateside, they spent time in Columbia, Missouri, where Colis preached for a small congregation and attended the University of Missouri to earn a master’s degree in physical education.

Their next stop was York College. Colis’s main role for their 17 year tenure at YC was head basketball coach and athletic director. He also taught physical education and Bible classes and coached track, soccer, and tennis for several years.  Dolores worked with the Girls’ Mission Group, pep club, cheerleaders, and social clubs, eventually serving as dean of women.

After leaving York College in 1975, Colis served for more than 20 years as a preacher in a number of congregations in Robstown and Acuff, Texas; Ramona, Oklahoma; and Kearney, Nebraska.

The Campbells were honored in 2011 as the first inductees to the York College Sports Hall of Fame.

They currently reside in Superior, Nebraska.

Dedication pics