Bainbridge native, long time highly successful Middle Georgia College head basketball coach and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Hall of Fame member Ben Rogers was honored with a Jan 25 dedication ceremony at the college’s gymnasium in Cochran.

During the ceremony, Middle Georgia’s current head basketball coach Scott Moe unveiled a permanent plaque that will hang in the gym commemorating Rogers impressive legacy as Middle Georgia College’s head basketball coach.

Rogers served as Middle Georgia’s head basketball coach for 25 years and taught mathematics at the school for 29 years from 1968 to 1997.

As head basketball coach, Rogers won 468 games, seven conference championships and two Region championships.

In 1978 and 1980 he led the team to the NJCAA National Tournament. He was inducted into the NJCAA Basketball Hall of Fame in Hutchinson, Kan., in 1998.

During the dedication ceremony, Coach Moe talked about how much Coach Rogers meant to the school.

“There was nothing in this gym that would let you know that Ben ever worked here except for a small little letter in the trophy case that I had to find and dust off when he was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame,” Coach Moe said.

“At that time I thought this isn’t right. It was time for something to be done properly to commemorate Ben Rogers and the life that he gave us,” Moe said.

Rogers expressed his gratitude to all the friends, family, former players and former co-workers who packed the stands for the dedication ceremony for their constant support.

“I want to thank everybody that came out for this occasion,” he said. “You don’t know what it means to me. I’ve been fortunate to receive some honors on the national level and on the state level, but you’ve never been honored until you’ve been honored at home by people you know and love.”