MC Department of Communication Honors Texas-Tyler Basketball Coach Kenny Bizot

Kenny Bizot and Department of Communication Chair Cliff Fortenberry

Kenny Bizot captured the Mr. Hustle Award during each of his four seasons as a Mississippi College basketball player in the early 1990s.

The New Orleans native is still hustling this fall as the successful basketball coach starting his fifth season as leader of the men’s basketball team at the University of Texas at Tyler. Bizot doubles as marketing director of the NCAA Division III school that’s among MC’s foes in the American Southwest Conference.

For his achievements on and off the basketball court, the Mississippi Department of Communication honored Bizot on Friday as its 2011 Alumnus of the Year on the Clinton campus.

“MC was the perfect fit for me,” Bizot told dozens of communication students and faculty members at a Homecoming reception at the Christian university’s International House. “This is really a special place.”

It was during his days at the Baptist-affiliated institution where he met his future wife, Jenni, and now they’re the proud parents of two young sons, Kenner and Will.

Earning a master’s degree in communication at Mississippi College helped the once shy Bizot become a better communicator with his basketball teams and a gifted motivational speaker at high school sports banquets across Texas.

“You’re what Mississippi College stands for,” MC men’s basketball coach Don Lofton said of his former assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for four years. “You’re someone we are all proud of.”

Besides playing with loads of energy on the court, Bizot excelled in the classroom. He earned Gulf South Conference All-Academic Team honors during his MC playing days from 1990 through 1994.

As head coach, Bizot has compiled a 53-51 mark with the Texas Tyler Patriots and led the team to the American Southwest Conference tournament each of the past four seasons.

Lofton and Bizot will become rivals twice during the 2011-2012 hoops season, with the Choctaws to battle the Patriots on the road in Tyler early in 2012. The Texas Tyler Patriots return to the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Clinton campus on February 4.

MC athletic director Mike Jones and former Choctaws teammate Chris Thurman were part of a videotape salute to the Texas Tyler coach. Earlier in his career, Bizot coached at Jackson Prep and at Hillcrest in Jackson where his team won two overall state titles.

Bizot joined a delegation of other Mississippi College alumni returning to receive awards at their alma mater.

The recipients included Alumnus of the Year Dr. Rory Lee, the executive director of the Baptist Children’s Village, and Order of the Golden Arrow winners Roy Fountain, a Forest businessman, and retired University of Mississippi historian David Sansing of Oxford. Among the winners of Departmental Distinguished Awards was Tim Martin, assistant superintendent of Clinton public schools. He was selected for the Department of Teacher Education and Leadership. Martin is also an adjunct professor in the School of Education.

A marathon of Homecoming events included a reception for the 50-Year Club, a golf tournament, athletic events, an awards dinner and a parade. On Friday, attorney and MC trustee Andy Taggart teamed with co-author Jere Nash at the Leland Speed Library to discuss their two books dealing with Mississippi politics.