Troy University

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This article is about the university in Alabama. For the university in New York, see Troy University (New York).
Troy University
TroyU-seal.png
Former names
 Troy Normal School
(1887–1929)
Troy State Teachers College
(1929–1957)
Troy State College
(1957–1967)
Troy State University
(1967–2005)[1]
Motto "Educate the mind to think, the heart to feel, and the body to act."
Type Public
Established 1887
Academic affiliations
 ACHE, SACS
Endowment $85.53 million[2]
Chancellor Jack Hawkins, Jr.
Vice-Chancellor Earl Ingram
Students 19,192 [3]
Location Troy, Alabama, United States of America
Campus College town (small town), 820 acres (1.28 mi²) [4]
Colors Cardinal, Silver, Black
              
Nickname Trojans
Sporting affiliations
 NCAA Division I – FBS, SBC
Mascot T-Roy
Website www.troy.edu
Troy University logo.png

Troy University is a comprehensive public university that is located in Troy, Alabama, United States. It was founded on February 26, 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System by an Act of the Alabama Legislature. It is the flagship university of the Troy University System. Troy University is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS) to award associate, baccalaureate, master's, education specialist, and doctoral degrees.[5][6]

In August 2005, Troy State University, Montgomery; Troy State University, Phenix City; Troy State University, Dothan; and Troy State University (Main Campus) all merged under one accreditation to become Troy University to better reflect the institution's worldwide mission. Prior to the merger, each campus was independently accredited and merging of these campuses helped to create a stronger institution by eliminating overlapping services and barriers to students. The merger combined talents and resources of staff, faculty, and administrators into a single highly effective and competitive university.

Today, the university serves the educational needs of students in four Alabama campuses, and 60 teaching sites in 17 U.S. States and 11 countries. Troy University's more than 100,000 alumni represent all 50 states and numerous foreign countries.

History[edit]

Troy University is a public university with its main campus located in Troy, Alabama. It was founded as a normal school in 1887 with a mission to educate and train new teachers. The school has since evolved into a state university, located in four sites across Alabama: Troy, Montgomery, Phenix City, and Dothan. The university also has various sites located throughout the United States and several international locations. Troy University is known for its innovation in offering in-class and online academic programs in servicing traditional, nontraditional, and military students. The main campus enrollment as of the fall of 2016 is 7,911 students. The campus consists of 36 major buildings on 650 acres (1.9 km²) plus the adjacent Troy University Arboretum.

At least three prominent political figures have been associated with Troy University. George Wallace, Jr., son of the late Governor George C. Wallace, is a former administrator at the university. Max Rafferty, the California Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1963 to 1971, was dean of the education department from 1971 until his death in 1982. Former Governor John Malcolm Patterson, an intra-party rival of George Wallace, taught U.S. history at the institution during the 1980s.

Name change[edit]

On April 16, 2004, the Board of Trustees voted to change the name of the institution from Troy State University to Troy University. The transition to the new name was completed in August 2005 and was the fifth in the school's history. When created by the Alabama Legislature on February 26, 1887, it was officially named the Troy State Normal School. The school was located in downtown Troy until moving to the present location on University Avenue in 1930. In 1929, the name was changed to Troy State Teachers College and it subsequently conferred its first baccalaureate degree in 1931. In 1957, the legislature voted both to change the name to Troy State College and to allow it to begin a master's degree program. The name was changed once again in 1967 to Troy State University.

Academics[edit]

Structure[edit]

Troy University cumulatively offers 46 bachelor's degree programs, 22 master's degree programs, and two doctoral programs.

Troy University's overall acceptance rate is 44%.[7]

The University is composed of:

  • Five Colleges
  • The Graduate School
  • The Division of General Studies

Rankings[edit]

University rankings
National
Forbes[8] 640
Regional
U.S. News & World Report[9] 69 (South)
Master's University class
Washington Monthly[10] 483

Troy University has acquired different institutional rankings from various sources:

  • Forbes ranks Troy as the 640th best school in the nation. Forbes’ overall ranking centers on the value of the degree obtained by a university’s students and measures, in part, the marketplace success of a school’s graduate.[11]
  • U.S. News & World Report in several categories for 2017:
Regional universities (South) - 69
Top public schools (South) - 23
Best Online Graduate Business Programs (Excluding MBA) - 98
Best Online Graduate Education Programs - 136
Best Online MBA Programs - 145
Best Online Bachelor's Programs - 226[12]
  • For several years in a row, the Princeton Review named Troy to its “Best in the Southeast” list due to excellence in academic programs and institutional data collected from the university.[13]
  • In 2017, Troy University was ranked as the #1 four-year college in the State of Alabama by Schools.com. The methodology for its ranking system took several factors into account, including tuition fees, number of degrees offered and average retention rate. The data in the study came from the National Center for Education Statistics from 2014-2016 and College Scorecard 2014-2015.[14]

Campus[edit]

Troy University buildings in downtown Montgomery

Troy University's Troy campus is located near downtown Troy. The campus sits along rolling hills with many old oak trees present along the streets and throughout campus. A very small lake named Lake Lagoona sits in front of university's Sorrell Chapel.

The Barnes & Noble campus bookstore

The university closed the Trojan Oaks Golf Course to build a new basketball arena, but remnants of the course are still present and are used freely for practice.

Main campus at Troy University

Student life[edit]

The Barnes & Noble campus bookstore with Starbucks
The largest residence hall in the Trojan Village student housing complex on the Troy University campus
Bibb Graves from University Avenue on the Troy University campus
The Trojan Dining Hall

Students who live on campus at Troy have a choice of 12 halls. University Apartments (for married students/students with children) is located a few blocks from campus.

Recreation[edit]

Many recreational activities are available on campus. The Trojan Fitness Center offers fitness machines, free weights, and cardiovascular machines. Trojan Games recreation room has two billiard tables, two table tennis tables, and a foosball game. The Natatorium houses an eight-lane 25-yard Olympic-style pool. The Recreation Center Gym has two basketball courts, a cardio room, a dance room, and a large outside pool. Wright Hall Gym, located adjacent to the Natatorium, offers a basketball court, two volleyball courts, and four badminton courts. The Intramural Fields consist of four flag football fields, two softball fields, and one soccer field.

Trojan Arena, the newest facility on campus, is the home to the basketball, volleyball, and track programs, as well as being used for the University's commencement ceremonies and other special events with seating capacity of 6,000. The new Trojan Arena replaces the university's longtime basketball and events facility, Sartain Hall, which opened in 1962. Trojan Arena is equipped with 5,600 chair-back seats and several VIP suites and boxes. Under the main court is 10,000 sq. ft. of basketball practice space. Beyond the normal concession area is a food court-style lounge and a simulated court area on the concourse. The arena includes seven upper-level suites and an exclusive Stadium Club area for donors, while also adding floor seating for students. Among the latest technology features of the new arena is a three-tiered rotunda at the main entrance, an interior concourse with concession stands, and a food court-styled dining center with various specialty food items. It features an LED ribbon board that panoramically encircles the entire arena with two 767-square-foot video boards that enhances the total sports gaming experience, the only one of its kind in the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojan Arena is also home to the Troy University Sports Hall of Fame, with digital displays of its honored members located adjacent to the rotunda.

Transportation[edit]

The Troy University Transportation Service offers students free shuttling services at various stops across campus and within the surrounding community.

Greek life[edit]

Twenty- three traditional Greek organizations are on Troy's campus.

IFC Fraternities[15] Alpha Tau Omega (ΑΤΩ) Delta Kappa Epsilon (ΔΚΕ)[16] Delta Chi (ΔΧ) Lambda Chi Alpha (ΛΧΑ) Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) FarmHouse (FH) Pi Kappa Phi (ΠΚΦ) Sigma Chi (ΣΧ)
NPC Sororities[17] Alpha Gamma Delta (ΑΓΔ) Alpha Delta Pi (ΑΔΠ) Chi Omega (ΧΩ) Phi Mu (ΦΜ) Kappa Delta (ΚΔ) Alpha Omicron Pi (ΑΟΠ)
NPHC Greek Life[18] Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) Zeta Phi Beta (ΖΦΒ) Delta Sigma Theta (ΔΣθ) Phi Beta Sigma (ФВΣ) Sigma Gamma Rho (ΣΓΡ) Omega Psi Phi (ΩΨΦ) Kappa Alpha Psi (ΚΑΨ) Alpha Phi Alpha (ΑΦΑ) Iota Phi Theta (ΙΦΘ)

Religious and other organizations[edit]

The university is home to numerous religious campus organizations such as: Gamma Phi Delta Christian Fraternity, the Campus Awakening, Chi Alpha, Wesley Foundation, Baptist Campus Ministries, Pentecostal Campus Ministries, the Newman Center (Roman Catholic), the Christian Student Center (Church of Christ), and the Troy Secular Association. Some of these religious organizations have stand-alone physical facilities on the Troy campus.

Sorrell Chapel.

Music organizations[edit]

These six music organizations function under the supervision of the John M. Long School of Music:[19]

Student media[edit]

The school newspaper, the Tropolitan (commonly referred to as "The Trop"), is located on the bottom floor of Wallace Hall. It is a weekly publication, written and produced entirely by students. The Palladium is located in adjacent offices in the same building. Also located in Wallace Hall is Troy University Television, also referred to as Troy TrojanVision. Troy University Television broadcasts three live entirely student-produced newscasts twice daily. TrojanVision Global News, TrojanVision Midday & TrojanVision Nightly News. Troy TrojanVision also produces a 30-minute sports show, Trojan Sports Now, every week. TrojanVision streams live online and can be seen at the university's YouTube page.

The "Sound of the South" marching band[edit]

Main article: Sound of the South Marching Band

Music is an integral part of Troy University, as it boasts 29 faculty members in the School of Music. With over 200 undergraduate music majors and fields with a variety of music ensembles including: a symphonic band, two concert bands, two jazz bands, a trumpet ensemble, a pep band, a brass quintet, and more. The school also hosts a brass symposium every spring semester.

Athletics[edit]

Main article: Troy Trojans
Troy Football Team 2009

Troy State Normal School began its sports program in 1909, when it fielded its first football team. Through the early years, Troy's athletics nicknames were not official and varied by the sport and the coach. Eventually, teams all began to use the name "Troy State Teachers", but when the athletic teams moved into NAIA competition, the nickname was then changed to the "Red Wave". In the early 1970s, the student body voted to change the name to Trojans after many felt that Red Wave was too similar to the University of Alabama's nickname, the Crimson Tide. Prior to becoming a member of NCAA Division I athletics in 1993, Troy University was a member of the Gulf South Conference of the NCAA Division II ranks. Troy's primary rivals were Jacksonville State University, Livingston University (now the University of West Alabama), and the University of North Alabama. In 2004, Troy joined the Sun Belt Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Athletics

Football[edit]

Troy University began playing football in 1909. The program has won three national championships, the NAIA national football championship in 1968, and the NCAA Division II national football championship in 1984 and 1987. Troy transitioned to the NCAA's Division I-A in 2001, became a football only member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2004, and joined the conference for all other sports in 2005. In 2001, Troy defeated Mississippi State at Scott Field in Starkville, Mississippi, by a score of 21–9 which was the Trojans' first victory over a BCS level program. In 2004, the Trojans defeated a ranked BCS program for the first time ever, defeating #17 Missouri 24-14 at home on ESPN2. The Trojan football team made its first bowl game appearance in the Silicon Valley Football Classic on December 30, 2004, but lost to Northern Illinois, 34–21. In 2006, Troy won the Sun Belt Conference for the first time after defeating Middle Tennessee State toward the end of the 2006 season. Troy represented the Sun Belt Conference in the 2006 New Orleans Bowl as the conference champion for the first time where the Trojans defeated the Rice Owls of Conference USA by a score of 41–17. Troy participated in the 2010 New Orleans Bowl where the Trojans routed Ohio by a score of 48–21. Troy has most recently participated in the 2016 Dollar General Bowl in Mobile, AL which the Trojans won over Ohio 28-23. Former Troy football head coach Larry Blakeney served 25 seasons as head coach between 1990 and the end of the 2014 season. He has led the program to three Southland Football Conference titles and five Sun Belt Conference titles, as well as guided the Trojans to seven FCS playoff appearances and five FBS bowl games. Blakeney boasts an overall record of 178–113–1 as head coach at Troy. Blakeney is the winningest coach in the Troy University history and he is the 4th winningest collegiate coach all-time in the state of Alabama, only behind Paul "Bear" Bryant, Cleve Abbott, and Ralph "Shug" Jordan. Blakeney is one of two coaches in college football history to be the head coach of a football program during its transition from Division II to I-A (the other being UCF’s Gene McDowell). The current head coach is Neal Brown.

Veterans Memorial Stadium, home of Trojan football

Basketball[edit]

The Troy University men's basketball team was under the direction of head coach Don Maestri for 31 years until his retirement in 2013. Coach Maestri is the winningest coach in school history, with exactly 500 career wins, and he has won numerous conference coach-of-the-year awards during his tenure at Troy University. The program has won 11 conference championships in basketball, with six of them coming in the Division I era. On January 12, 1992, Troy defeated DeVry University of Atlanta by the score of 253–141,[20] in what is the highest scoring game in NCAA basketball history. The Trojans competed in the 2003 NCAA Tournament in Nashville against Xavier University after winning the Atlantic Sun Conference title. In 2004, Troy was an NIT participant in a match-up against Niagara University. In 2008, coach Maestri was inducted into the Wiregrass Sports Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Dothan, Alabama. In 2009, the Trojans finished 3rd place in the Sun Belt Conference and competed in the CBI against College of Charleston. After winning the Sun Belt regular season title in 2010, the Trojans would be invited to play in the NIT once again against Ole Miss. Maestri is a member of the Troy University Sports Hall of Fame.

Maestri was replaced by Phil Cunningham on March 26, 2013.[21]

The Troy University women's basketball team is currently under the direction of head coach Chanda Rigby, a junior college standout and coaching veteran.

Main Entrance and concourse to Trojan Arena.

Baseball[edit]

The Troy University baseball team won two Division II national championships in 1986 and 1987 under the leadership of coach Chase Riddle. One of Troy's biggest victories in baseball came in April 1998 when the Trojans knocked off the #3 nationally ranked University of Alabama Crimson Tide by a score of 8–4 at Riddle-Pace Field on the Troy campus. Under the direction of current head coach Bobby Pierce, the Trojan baseball program has competed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament in 2006 and 2007. Troy also competed in the 1995 and 1997 NCAA Division One tournament under head coach John Mayotte. In 1999, the program tying the NCAA Division I record for most hits in the 6th inning, belting 14 hits (in the 6th) in a 34–4 rout of Stetson.[22]

Rodeo[edit]

The program's governing body is the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. The rodeo program's home facility is the Pike County Cattlemen's Arena in Troy where it hosts a three-day rodeo each October that features college rodeo programs from throughout the southern region of the United States. Troy University calf roper Ben Mayworth won the 2007 national title in Casper, Wyoming, at the National Finals Collegiate Rodeo.

Campus and academic features[edit]

The international student living/learning center, Pace Hall.

Hall of Fame of Distinguished Band Conductors[edit]

The Hall of Fame of Distinguished Band Conductors was established on the campus of what was then known as Troy State University in Troy, Alabama by the National Band Association in 1979. The Hall of Fame contains the picture and biographies of band directors who have distinguished themselves in some way or who have made significant contributions to the field of band directing, conducting, or leadership.

The Adams Administration Building, located on the Quad.

Confucius Institute[edit]

The Confucius Institute is a non-profit public institute that aims at promoting Chinese language and culture while supporting local Chinese teachings through international affiliated Confucius Institutes. Its headquarters is in Beijing and is under the Office of Chinese Language Council International or Hanban. The first Confucius Institute in the state of Alabama opened at Troy University in the fall of 2008.

The Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy[edit]

Troy University’s Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy was formed in September as the result of a $3.6 million gift from Troy alumnus Dr. Manuel H. Johnson, BB&T and the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation. The Center’s mission is the advancement of free market economic ideas and its research and teaching efforts explore the idea that economic freedom improves the quality of life for citizens. The new Center is part of the University’s Sorrell College of Business and it is housed inside Bibb Graves Hall. Dr. Scott Beaulier serves as the center’s executive director.

University libraries[edit]

The libraries on the Dothan, Montgomery, and Troy campuses house collections of more than 500,000 bound volumes, 40,000 media items, and nearly 1 million items in microform. The Troy University Library on the Troy campus is a Federal Depository Library.

Satellite campuses[edit]

Troy University has three other satellite campuses located in the state of Alabama:

Notable alumni[edit]

Main article: Notable Alumni of Troy University

References[edit]

  1. ^ Songe, Alice. American Universities and Colleges: A Dictionary of Name Changes. Scarecrow Press (Metuchen, NJ: 1978), p. 213
  2. ^ As of June 30, 2015. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2014 to FY 2015" (PDF). National Association of College and University Business Officers and Commonfund Institute. 2016. 
  3. ^ Headcount Demographics http://www.troy.edu/factsite/headcount-demographics.html
  4. ^ "Troy University | Troy | Troy Events at wsfa.com". Events.wsfa.com. September 10, 2011. Archived from the original on March 31, 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-26. 
  5. ^ Troy University Graduate School Troy University. 2007-2013. Retrieved February 5, 2013
  6. ^ Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Troy University. 2007-2013. Retrieved February 5, 2013
  7. ^ "2017 Best Colleges, Niche". Niche.com Inc. Retrieved July 3, 2017. 
  8. ^ "America's Top Colleges". Forbes. July 5, 2016. 
  9. ^ "Best Colleges 2017: Regional Universities Rankings". U.S. News & World Report. September 12, 2016. 
  10. ^ "2016 Rankings - National Universities - Masters". Washington Monthly. Retrieved September 6, 2016. 
  11. ^ "Forbes America's Top Colleges, Troy University". Forbes America's Top Colleges. Retrieved August 2, 2017. 
  12. ^ "Troy University". US News Best College Rankings 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2017. 
  13. ^ "Best Southeastern Universities". Princeton Review. Retrieved July 3, 2017. 
  14. ^ "New study ranks Troy as top college in Alabama". Retrieved November 13, 2017. 
  15. ^ "Interfraternity Council". Retrieved November 13, 2017. 
  16. ^ "Delta Kappa Epsilon International Fraternity Website by ChapterSpot.com". Dke.org. November 11, 2011. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-26. 
  17. ^ "College Panhellenic Council". Retrieved November 13, 2017. 
  18. ^ "National Pan-Hellenic Council". Retrieved November 13, 2017. 
  19. ^ "Troy University "Sound of the South"". Soundofthesouth.org. Retrieved 2014-08-11. 
  20. ^ Bois, Jon. "Troy State 253, DeVry 141 Pretty Good, Episode 12". YouTube. Retrieved 22 March 2017. 
  21. ^ "Troy hires WKU assistant Phil Cunningham as basketball coach". Washington Post. 2013-03-26. [dead link]
  22. ^ "Division I Baseball Records" (PDF). NCAA. 

External links[edit]

Coordinates: 31°47′53″N 85°57′14″W / 31.79806°N 85.95389°W / 31.79806; -85.95389

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