This is Union!BULLDOG BASKETBALLIn 1879 a group ofprogressive citizens followedthe prompting of Abraham H.Harritt, a salesman of schooldesks, and James T. Gibson,the owner of a generalmerchandisestore, to establisha college in the Barbourvillecommunity. W.W. Sawyersand James D. Black met in theoffice of Judge J.H. Tinsleyand formed a stock companyto launch Union College.Black, who later served aspresident of Union from 1910-12 and later served as governorof Kentucky, is given creditCENTENNIAL HALLfor having named the school“Union.” The institution itwould serve as a unifying influence for the community regardless of church affiliationor political differences. The Articles of Incorporation were drawn up on Oct. 18, 1879,and provided for the issuance of $20,000 worth of capital stock. The London Echo ofDec. 12, 1879, carrying its first announcement of Union, listed the corporation as being“designed to fill a long-felt want in eastern Kentucky, eastern Tennessee and westernVirginia.”Union was operated under local leadership for the first few years, but began toexperience severe financial struggles. On Oct. 25, 1886, the property was “cried off”to Green Elliott, who purchased it for Dr. Daniel Stevenson for the sum of $4,425with Mrs. Mahala Dowis furnishing the funds. The renowned Kentucky educator hadbeen authorized to attend the sale by the Board of Education of the Kentucky AnnualConference of The United Methodist Church.Union’s athletic mascot, the English Bulldog, was introduced during the fall of 1925.The breed, whose ancestors were developed in Britain before the 13th century from theBritish mastiff and other breeds, was used for bullbaiting and dogfighting until thesesports were outlawed in the 19th century.In 1967, the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity of Union College purchased the firstliving mascot named Mack. He was presented at the Homecoming basketball game thatsame year. A registered English Bulldog, Mack died in 1971. His remains are buried inan area adjacent to Union’s current baseball complex.During the past seven years, Union College began a major campus renovationand building project. Plans included the creation of new student housing, expandedacademic and athletic centers, and the upgrade of existing facilities. Projects completedwere the construction of the Stewart-Lyttle Apartments, Sharp Academic Center, BlackTechnology Center and the renovation of Speed Hall. Union’s athletic facilities havealso received facelifts as well. A new brick backstop erected in 2001 at Sanders Fieldat Jerry W. Carey Baseball Stadium, while a new wooden outfield fence was built in2002 with a new outfield wall in 2008. Robsion Arena recently had the floor repainted,new scoreboards installed and a new lights, roof and gutters installed. Two new tenniscourts were constructed, while the existing four were resurfaced, and a new press boxwas constructed at Burch/Nau Field (football) in 2003 and synthetic sports turn inlaidin 2007. In 2008, Union opened up a new weight-room facility as well.Union offers 27 majors in the undergraduate curriculum, which lead to a bachelor’sdegree. Minors are also available in many of these programs. In addition, the collegeoffers pre-professional programs that are affiliated with other institutions and agencies.Union College also boasts a graduate program The college offers graduate work ineducation leading to a Master’s degree, Fifth-Year Certificate and Rank I Certificate.How many independent, liberal arts colleges in the Commonwealth of Kentucky canboast of a Nobel Prize-winning graduate? Union College can certainly lay claim to that.Dr. Phillip A. Sharp, the co-winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize for medicine, received hisbachelor’s degree from Union in 1966.Campus life starts from the moment the students arrive on campus and continuesthrough the end of the school year. Students can participate in more than 30 campusorganizations such as music, theatre productions, sports, student government, religiousactivities and clubs.JUST THE FACTSType: Personally-focused private liberalarts collegeFounded: 1879 as Kentucky’s firstcollege in the mountainsAffiliation: United Methodist Church;however, Union welcomes students ofall faithsStudents: Nearly 800 undergraduatesrepresenting 27 states, Puerto Rico andfive foreign countriesAcademics: Bachelor of Arts andBachelor of Science degrees; 28 majors,21 minorsLocation: Just 17 miles east ofInterstate 75 in Barbourville, insoutheastern Kentucky, located in thefoothills of the Appalachian Mountainrange along the famous WildernessRoad and 30 miles from CumberlandGap National Historic ParkCampus: Over 100 acres covered inmajestic trees, mountain greenery, andGeorgian architecture and surroundedby four state parks; 20 buildingsincluding our state-of-the-art technologycenter and library, Academic ResourceCenter and new student apartmentsAthletics: 23 intercollegiate varsitysports, including coed cheerleading,a number of junior varsity sports andintramual sportsActivities: Approximately 30 studentclubs and organizations; student eventsincluding Homecoming, spring formal,Springfest, lip-sync contests, studentdinners, dances, bonfires and outdoorrecreationTechnology: All academic buildingsand residence halls are wired fornetwork access; students receive 50MBof network file storage and personal e-mail addresses; all residence hall roomsinclude cable television; Yahoo! InternetLife Magazine lists Barbourville as oneof the most wired towns in the UnitedStatesFinancial Aid/Scholarships: Nearly$4 million awarded annually toapproximately 98 percent of Union’sundergraduate students2 • Union College
2007-08 Union Athletics ReviewThe 2007-08 year for Union College athleticsproved to be a memorable one.Union posted its highest finish ever in the U.S.Sports Academy Directors’ Cup NAIA Standings byplacing 28th. In the AAC Duard Walker All-SportsTrophy standings, Union posted a second-place finish,which also marks the best finish in the six years Unionhas been a part of the conference. Also, Union Directorof Athletics Darin S. Wilson was named the 2008 AACAthletic Director of the Year.In all, Union had nine team national championshipappearances, seven AAC Championships, three RegionXII Championships, six All-Americans, 10 conferencePlayers of the Year, three Region XII Players of theYear, 61 All-Conference award winners, and 13 All-Region XII performances.Union coaches collected three AAC and RegionXII Coach of the Year awards as well. The women’sswim team added the NAIA Scholar Team award,four student-athletes were Daktronics-NAIA ScholarAthletes, while two others made the CoSIDA AcademicAll-America Team. Academic All-Conference nodswent to 23 Union athletes.Marty Popham, from the baseball squad, and BrookeSmith, a member of the women’s basketball team, werenamed the Union Male and Female Athletes of theYear. Popham was a NAIA All-American First Teampitcher and selected in the 20th round by the ClevelandIndians during the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Smithcaptured the Appalachian Athletic Conference Player of the Year award enroute to a nod on the NAIA All-American Third Team. Allison Fowler receivedthe Danny Drinkard Award which represents excellence on the field of play aswell as in the classroom and community. Fowler was also a part of the Unionwomen’s basketball team and was named the 2008 AAC Tournament MVP andAAC Defensive Player of the Year.MEN’S & WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY• Brandon Kibert qualified for the NAIA National Championship. He finished145th after earning All-AAC and All-Region XII honors• Kandy Hubbard broke the school record four times which now sits at 21:48• Kibert and Hubbard were 2007 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-AthletesCYCLING• Union finished fourth at the NCCA Division II National Championship• The fourth-place finish is the third top-five finish in a row and sixth overall forthe program• Freshman Zach Winn won the MidWest Collegiate Cycling ConferenceDivision II Rider of the YearVOLLEYBALL (34-15, 16-2 AAC)• AAC Regular-Season Champions• Monica Moreland won the Region XII and AAC Player of the Year awardsalong with the AAC Setter and Freshman of the Year honors• Stephanie Pateman and Marlee Cooper were All-Region XII and All-AACselections• A total of 12 school records were broken• The team was ranked as high as 29th nationallyWOMEN’S SOCCER (7-8-2, 3-3-1 AAC)• Heather Jaques was named to the NAIA All-American honorable mention list• Union won a AAC Tournament quarterfinal contest• Karla Goncalves was an All-AAC playerMEN’S SOCCER (10-7-1, 1-5-1 AAC)• Union earned 10 wins for the first time since 2001 season• Included in the 10 wins was a AAC Tournament quarterfinal victory• Seniors Patrick Bueno and Dustin Isom were named to the All-AAC teamFOOTBALL (4-7, 2-3 MSC EAST)• Joey Waters passed his way to the Mid-South Conference East Offensive Playerof the Year and numerous school records• Union put six players on the All-MSC East First Team, four on the offensiveside with two on the defensive team• The Bulldogs ended the season with a 28-21 win at Georgetown snapping a23-game losing streak to the Tigers• Patrick O’Neal made 143 tackles for the single-season recordMEN’S BASKETBALL (19-13, 8-10 AAC)• Aaron Dunaway was named to the All-AAC Second Team• Chris Stunson became the 26th player in Union history to join the 1,000-pointclub• Stunson added a spot on the All-AAC defensive team• Michael Hester was a member of the All-AAC Freshmen TeamWOMEN’S BASKETBALL (25-9, 15-3 AAC)• AAC Regular-Season Co-Champions and AAC Tournament Champions• Advanced to the NAIA Division II National Tournament• Tim Curry passed the 200 career win plateau and won his 100th game at Union• 14 Records were broken during the season• Three earned All-AAC Team honors with Brooke Smith earning Player of theYear honors• Union was ranked as high as No. 20 on January 23• 14 Records were broken during the seasonMEN’S & WOMEN’S SWIMMING• The men’s team finished 14th at the NAIA Swimming and Diving NationalChampionship• The women’s squad finished 21st at the NAIA Swimming and Diving NationalChampionship• The Lady Bulldogs were named a NAIA Scholar TeamMEN’S & WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD• Andre Thornton and Johnnie Nabors were two-time All-Americans• Kibert qualified for the marathon and he was a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete• A total of 43 men’s and women’s records were broken during the indoor andoutdoor seasons• The Bulldogs used 15 All-AAC performances to finish second at the AACChampionship• The women’s squad finished fourth at the conference meetMEN’S & WOMEN’S GOLF• Junior Sam Lee was a member of NAIA All-Region XII• Lee also played his way to the All-AAC Tournament team.• Adam LaTulippe gave Union two players on the All-AAC team• Dudley McKenna earned All-NAIA Region XII and All-AAC honorsSOFTBALL (24-29, 10-6 AAC)• Union finished second in the AAC Tournament after a third-place regularseasonfinish• Sarah Driver earned All-Region XII and All-AAC nods• Freshman Ashley Tatman also was a All-Region XII and All-AAC player• Finished third at NAIA Region XII TournamentMEN’S TENNIS (16-3, 5-0 AAC)• AAC Regular-Season Champions, AAC Tournament Champions and NAIARegion XII Champions• Advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA National Tournament• Anthony Hill was named the NAIA Region XII and AAC Player of the Year• A total of four Bulldogs were All-AAC selectionsWOMEN’S TENNIS (15-5, 5-0 AAC)• AAC Regular-Season Champions, AAC Tournament Champions and NAIARegion XII Champions• Advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA National Tournament• Camila Cunha won the NAIA Region XII and AAC Player of the Year honors• A total of four Union players were All-AAC selectionsBASEBALL (48-18, 13-5 AAC)• NAIA Region XII Champions and South Central Super Region Champions• Made first-ever NAIA World Series appearance, finished tied for fifth• The 48 wins tied the 2006 squad for the most in program history and is thefourth-straight 40-plus win year under Bart Osborne• Osborne surpassed the 200-win mark, making him Union’s winningest coach inprogram history• Marty Popham led NAIA in wins with 17 and was named a NAIA First TeamAll-American with two others earning honorable mentions• Four players were named to the All-AAC team• In all, 33 school records were broken or tied during the seasonUnion College • 3<strong>WWW</strong>.<strong>UC</strong><strong>BULLDOGS</strong>.<strong>COM</strong>