EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Perhaps one word best describes Eastern Kentucky University.

Growth.

Over $60 million in construction, the tripling of the student body and comp l ete reorganization of the academic structure ha s taken p l ace s inc e 1960 .

That was when Dr. Robert R. Martin assumed the presidency of Ea stern, becom i ng i ts s ixth c hief executive.

With universit y status effective Jul y 1 , 19 66, Eastern was reorganized in to five colleges and a graduate sc hool. Curricula in the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology, Arts a nd Sciences, Busi n ess and Education l ead to the Bachelor of Sc ience, Bachelor of Arts or Associate of Arts degree. Central Un i vers i ty Co ll ege offers preparatory curricu la for the first tw o years of the student's co ll ege career, pro v idin g a liberal base for a major i n one of the advanced colleges. Th e master's degree i s offered i n education, Eng li sh, hi sto ry, guidance and co un se lin g for n o n- school personnel, business administration, music education and biolo gy . A J oint Doctoral Program in Edu ca tion, sponsored in cooperation with the University of K en tu cky, permits students to cont inu e in re s id ence at Eastern for one academic year beyond the master's degree.

Found ed as Eastern Kentucky State Normal School in 1906 by act of th e State L eg i slature, Eastern was created to educa te teachers for the sc hool s of the Commonwealth. The in stit ution annually produces more teachers than any other K e ntuck y college or univer sity.

The physical plant has und ergo ne buildin g and renovation programs totaling over $60 million s i nce 1960 . During this period every exist i ng major campus facility ha s been remode l ed or complete l y recons truct ed.

But per h aps th e most st rikin g growth ha s been in the st udent bod y. Ea ste rn' s enrollment- expec t ed to exceed 9,000 this fa ll - ha s more than tripled in the la s t eig ht years.

A well - rounded sports program, both in te r co ll eg i ate and intramural, i s sponsored and encouraged by the University. Eastern i s represented in int erco ll eg iat e competition in baseba ll , basketball, cross -countr y, footba ll , golf, rifle, sw imming, tenn i s and track.

The univ ers it y i s administered by a Board of Regents, of which W endell P. Butler, State Superint e ndent of Public Inst ruction, is ex - off i cio chairman.

In 1941, foresighted men had v1s1ons of an Ohio Valle y Conference. Sport s writers speculated about the impending division of the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Virtually all agreed it was just a matter of tim e until the division took place and a new athletic conference was formed.

Then the Japan ese bombed Pearl Harbor and America was plunged into World War II.

Seven ye ars lat e r, after the hostiliti es had ceased, a prewar dream becam e a po st -war realit y . The " Big Five " of the K. I. A. C. withdrew to form the Ohio Valley Conference.

Making the move were West er n Kentucky State College, Eastern K e ntuck y State College , Murra y State College, Morehead State College and the Univ ersity of Louis v ille. They were joined by Evansville Coll ege and, shortly thereafter, by Tennes see Tech and Mar s hall College.

Purpo se of the 0. V. C. , as set forth in its constitution, i s

The Ohio Valley Conference

"to regulate , control, and promote all the recognized branch es of intercoll eg iate athletics in in sti tution s represented. "

Through a gradual process, the Ohio Valley Conference was to become a l eag u e of Kentuck y and Tenne ssee sta te coll eges. Middle T e nne ssee State College joined the rolls in 1952, Ea st Tenn esse e State Universit y in 1957 and Austin P eay State College in the spring of 1962. They replaced Louisville, which became an ind e p ende nt in 1949, and Mar s hall and Evan sv ille , which departed in 1952 .

In 1963, the l eag ue took another step forward b y appointing Arthur L. Guepe, former football coac h and athletic dire cto r at Virginia and Vanderbilt Uni vers itie s, as the OVC ' s fir st full-time commissioner.

Annuall y , the OVC present s an All -Sp orts Trophy for over - all exce llen ce in the entire athletic program . The pa s t three years, Ea s t er n ha s won the trophy o n ce and finished second t wice.