Wayne Baker believes that the city of Odessa has plenty to offer visitors.

And Odessa College's first-year athletic director just landed a prime opportunity to showcase his new city next spring.

Odessa College has been awarded the bid to host the 2011 NJCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship at the Links Course on the Odessa Country Club from May 15 to May 20 next year.

"It was kind of a gamble," Baker said. "There were five pretty strong bids for 2011, and we rolled the dice. We were able to get the bid."

The NJCAA handed out bids for three years - 2011, 2012, and 2013 - but Odessa College could only make a run at the 2011 tournament. Dates for the 2012 and 2013 tournaments did not match up for the Odessa Country Club.

But the gamble paid off for one of the nation's best junior college golf programs.

The Wranglers have won eight national championships - two under current head coach Paul Chavez - and hosted the first NJCAA Men's Golf Championship in 1959 under former head coach Jimmy Russell.

Now, the current crop of Wranglers have a little extra incentive to add to that legacy next season.

"This is a big, big deal," freshman Abraham Ancer said. "It's everybody's dream to win the national tournament, and we know the course very well, but I'm sure they're going to set it up so that it's really hard."

More importantly, the eye of junior college golf will be focused on Odessa for the first time since 1987.

"It's another mark on the Odessa College golf resume," Wranglers head coach Paul Chavez said. "Being a host school allows us to say our home course is a national championship course."

Teams from around the country will descend on the city twice - along with the national championship, Odessa College is also required to host the NJCAA National Preview in October - stay in hotels, eat at restaurants and spend money all over the city.

Not bad for a simple roll of the dice.

Click here to read article by Odessa American writer Joel A. Erickson