ATHLETICS AT EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

The College of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Athletics sponsors seven intercollegiate sports for men, six intercollegiate sports for women and two coeducational intercollegiate sports. Extensive intramural, free play and club sports programs are sponsored providing varied participation opportunities for all.

These programs are an integral part of the total program and development of Eastern students. They offer experiences which contribute immeasurably to the health, vitality and preparation of young people as citizens and for their leadership contributions to the youth in the nation's schools and elsewhere.

The College of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Athletics offers a variety of degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The coaches of athletics are among the fifty-seven full-time faculty members representing more than a score of the finest colleges and universities in the nation, required to produce academic, intramural and varsity athletic programs.

The extensive indoor and outdoor facilities are used interchangeably for instruction and athletics as is the faculty. The College, which is organized under a single administrative unit, includes three academic departments under which there are seventeen undergraduate and graduate degree programs and intercollegiate athletics. This type organization contributes significantly to successful coordination of the program, faculty and facilities for maximum contribution to the overall mission of the University.

The College is headed by Dean Russell Bogue. Its three academic departments are: School and Public Health, chaired by Dr. Herman Bush; Recreation and Park Administration, chaired by Dr. James McChesney; Physical Education, chaired by Dr. Lee Gentry. The College's program of intercollegiate athletics is administered by Athletic Director, Mr. Donald G. Combs, and Assistant Athletic Director, Dr. Martha Mullins. Its newly created Department of H.P.E.R. & A. Services is administered by Dr. Fred Darling.

Through its departments, the College offers six baccalaureate degree programs and one two-year associate of arts option curricula for undergraduate students. At the graduate level, the College offers the Master of Science in Physical Education, Recreation and Park Administration, and Physical Education with the Sports Administration Option. Additional degree programs offered in cooperation with the College of Education include Specialist in Education, Master of Arts in Health Education, Allied Health, Physical Education, along with Rank II and Rank I teacher certification programs.

The College also serves EK U ' s general education program through required physical education and health classes for fre shmen and sophomores.

Enrolled in the College's academic programs are some I, 100 majors, including more than 400 graduate students. To serve this large enrollment, the College boasts a full-time faculty of 57, including 22 members with the earned 6 doctorate. Thirty graduate assistants perform teaching and other services. A balanced athletic program, intramural, sports clubs and intercollegiate, is provided by the College. Intramural and sport clubs programs are sponsored through the H.P.E.R. & A. services department by intramural directors. Competition in numerous sports, including softball, flag football, soccer, racquetball, bowling, volleyball, table tennis, track, basketball and field hockey provide physical outlets for EK U students.

EK U, a member of the NCAA and Ohio Valley Conference, fields athletic teams in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, swimming, golf, tennis, track (indoor and outdoor), rifle, and gymnastics. Basketball, field hockey, gymnastics, tennis, track and field and volleyball make up the intercollegiate program for women under the AIA W and K WIC.

Outstanding facilities are required to support an operation with the scope of Eastern's College of H.P.E.R. & A. The College's programs are housed in five major campus structures - The Robert B. Begley Building, where it is headquartered, the Alumni Coliseum, the Weaver Health Building, the Presnell Building and the Greg Adams Building. Numerous tennis courts, recreation areas, Gertrude Hood Field, Turkey Hughes Baseball Field, and the Tom C. Samuels nine-lane track with tartan infield are among the other facilities of the College. An 18-hole golf course and an outdoor educationrecreation demonstration area are located at Arlington. There are four equipped training rooms attached to the intercollegiate locker rooms in four Buildings.

The seven-story Begley Building is designed to serve nearly 2,000 students hourly in classes and also provides seating for more than 20 ,000 football spectators. Included in the structure are three gymnasiums , 12 handball courts, 36 classrooms, 60 offices and the dressing facilities for physical education and football. A training area includes two exercise and weight-lifting rooms, a steam room and a large therapy tank. A seminar room and reception area are located on the second level of the building. Offices on this level have been accousticall y treated to absorb sound from the open-top athletic area.

The Thomas E. McDonough Intramural Fields, which boasts 10 football fields, two of which are varsity practice fields and another two which are large enough for soccer play, are in use. In season, eight softball fields may be superimposed on the football layouts.

The Glenn Presnell Building houses football locker and shower rooms, a training room, rest rooms and storage, office and lecture areas. An equipment check-out room and other service facilitie s are located to serve the students who participate in the intramural programs.

The Greg Adams indoor tennis facility became available fo r use in the fall of 1976. It constitutes the fifth building on campus devoted to hous ing the activities of the College of H.P.E.R. & A.

Roy Kidd passed another coaching milestone during the 1980 season. In leading the Colonels lo the national championship game (EK U lost in the last minute of play to Boise State) for the second straight year, Kidd 's Eastern learn went 10-3-0 on the season, giving lhe 17-year veteran at E K U the most coaching wins in Ohio Valley C onference history. Having thus compiled a 121-536 mark at EK U, Kidd was chosen as the N C AA's Divis ion I-AA National Coach of the Year for the '80 season.