EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

A rapidly developing physical plant, a fast-growing student body a nd an expanding academic organization characterize Eastern Kentucky Univer s ity , a coeducational in s titution of higher learni n g located at Richm on d in the heart of the Blue Grass region of Central Kentucky .

With university status effective July 1, 1966, Eastern was reorganized into five colleges and a graduate school. Curricula in the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology, Arts and Sciences, Business and Educa tion lead to the Ba c helor of Science, Bachelor of Arts or Associate of Arts degree. Central Univer s ity College offers preparatory curricula for the first two years of the student's college career, providing a liberal ba s e for a major in one of the advanced colleges. The master's degree is offered in education, English, hi s tory, guidance and counseling for non-school personnel, business admini s tration , music education and biology. A Joint Doctoral Program in Education, sponsored in cooperation with the Univer s ity of Kentucky , permits students to continue in re s idence at Eastern for one academic year beyond the master's degree.

Founded as Eastern Kentucky State Normal School in 1906 by act of the S ta te Legislature, Eastern was created to educate teachers for the schools of the Commonwealth. The institution annually produce s mor e teachers than any other Kentucky college or university.

The physical plant has undergone building and renovation programs totaling o v er $50 million since 1960. During this period every existing major campus facility h a s been remodeled or completely reconstructed.

But perhaps the most striking growth has been in the student body. Eastern's enrollment-an expected 9,000 this fall-has more than tripled in the last eight years.

A well-rounded sports program, both intercollegiate and intramural, is sponsored and encouraged by the Univer s ity Eastern is represented in intercollegiate competition in b as eball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, rifle, sw imming, tennis and track.

Eastern is administered by a Board of Regents , of which Dr. Harry M. Sparks, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, is ex-officio chairman. Sixth president of the in s titution is Eastern alumnus Dr. Robert R. Martin.

T h e Ohio Valley Conference

In 1941, foresighted men had visions of an Ohio V a lley Conference. Sports writers speculated about the impending division of the K e ntucky In terco llegiate Athletic Conference . Virtually all agreed it was just a matter of time until the divi si on took place and a n ew athletic conference was formed.

Then the Japane se bombed Pearl Harbo r and Americ a was plunged into World War II .

Sev e n years l ater, after th e hostilitie s had ceased, a pre - war dream became a post-war reality. The "Big Five " of the KI.AC. withdrew to form the Ohio Valley Conference .

Making the move were We s tern Kentucky Stat e Colleg e, Eastern Kentucky State Colleg e , Murray Stat e Coll ege, Morehead State College and the University of Loui sv ill e. Th ey were joined by Evan sv ille Colleg e and, s hortly thereafter, by Tenne ssee Tech and Mar s hall College.

Purpo s e of the O .V.C., as set forth in it s con s titution, is "to regulate, control, and promote all the recognized branches of intercollegiate athletics in in sti tut io n s represented."

Through a gradual process, the Ohio Valley Conference was to become a lea g ue of K ent uck y and T e nne ssee st ate college s . Middle Tennes see Sta te College joined the rolls in 1952, Ea st Tennessee State Univer s ity in 1957 and Au s tin Peay State College in the spring of 1962. They r e plac e d Loui s ville, which b ecame an independent in 1949, and Mar s hall and Evan sv ill e, which departed in 1952.

In 1963 , the l eague took another step forward by appointing Arthur L. Gu e p e, former football coach and athletic director at Virginia and Vanderbilt Univer s itie s, as the OVC' s first full-time commissioner .