EPHRAIM, Utah — Identify an institution of higher education in Utah named for a president of the Church, led by a man with connections to the highest leadership of the Church, with a basketball coach named Judkins and a basketball team with 11 returned missionaries.
BYU would be close (nine returned missionaries), but the answer is Snow College in central Utah's Sanpete Valley.
Returned missionaries have flocked to the state junior college where they play for coach Jon Judkins. (The school is named for President Lorenzo Snow and its current president is Michael T. Benson, grandson of President Ezra Taft Benson. Judkins' brother, Jeff, is coach of the BYU women's team.)
Coach Judkins, who, along with his three assistants, is also a returned missionary, sees the returned missionaries as usually more mature players. In a Church News interview, he said they are often more focused on basketball and academics.
In considering a school, the coach said parents look at the cost, while the prospective student-athlete is looking at the campus life. But when it comes right down to it, the players just want to play, he said. "They think we're fair and will give them that chance."
Coach Judkins played at Utah State University on a squad in 1986 that had nine returned missionaries.
The only player who suits up for the Snow College Badgers but is not a returned missionary is freshman Assis da Costa from Seville, Spain. He joined the Church last summer in Texas and has fit in well with his brethren.
Sophomore guard Jake Schroeder said Assis can always be seen saying a prayer before eating meals when the team is traveling. Sophomore Jerron Glazier said, "He's one of the most faithful scripture readers on the road, too."
The makeup of the team is also a help to Assis whose primary languages are Portuguese and Spanish, but also speaks German, Dutch and English. Sophomores Tyler Hollist and Jared Parrish, who went on Spanish-speaking missions, are able to speak to him in Spanish, which helped during his initial exposure to the Snow basketball program.
Coach Judkins said returned missionaries "know where they want to go in life and in school."
He continued: "We don't have a lot of team rules. They know how important it is to go to bed. They know how important it is to go to school. I'd hate to have to be babysitting, making sure they go to class and things."
One of the unique things about the returned missionaries, Judkins said, is "the love. You know it's there at that age. They want to get married."
Three members of the team are married and two are engaged. That is a little unusual for a junior college team where the players are usually just a year or two out of high school.
Assistant coach Mike Olson identified reasons missionaries are attracted to Snow: "First is environment. (The players) like the environment of the school, of the town, of the quality of the school. They feel comfortable in this environment. Second is the quality of play and coaching they get from Coach Judkins. . . . We win. Third is that we give them the opportunity to move on and play at a bigger and better school."
For the missionaries, Snow (with an enrollment of about 3,000 students) is comfortable with 90 percent LDS students, 88 percent of whom are enrolled in Institute of Religion classes, according to longtime athletic director Bob Trythall.
The basketball players feel fortunate to be playing with others who have similar experiences and who are friends on and off the court.
Schroeder, who is from Riverton, Utah, said, "We probably won't notice until we go somewhere else next year what a unique, special opportunity it is to play with so many returned missionaries."
Glazier, from Kanab, Utah, pointed out another asset for missionaries playing at Snow: "Having a coach who understands the role of God in all of our lives."
The players don't spread the gospel on the court, but understand their responsibility as members of the Church. "For some of our opponents, we may be their first contact with the Church," Schroeder said. "Our examples could have an impact on them."
Returned missionaries will likely continue to find a home at Snow, though the coaching staff actively recruits all the best players they believe they have a chance to land. Judkins said, "We're getting lots of calls from parents whose sons are on missions now and want them to play for Snow when they return." Many parents and returned missionaries alike still seem to see Snow College as a good fit for what they are looking for as they continue their athletic and academic pursuits.
E-mail to: ghill@desnews.com