SOUTHERN ARKANSAS UNIVERSITY

'Southern Arkansas University', formerly the 'Third District Agricultural School' serves as a public four-year institution. It is located in Magnolia, Arkansas.

Contents

History

Athletics

Facilities

Notable Alumni

Location

References

External links

History

Southern Arkansas University was founded as the Third District Agricultural School in 1909. One of four such schools established by the Arkansas Legislature in that year. It officially opened in January 1911 as a district secondary school for southwest Arkansas. In 1925, the State Legislature authorized the school to add two years of college work to its curriculum and to change its name to 'Agricultural and Mechanical College, Third District'.
It carried both high school and junior college courses until 1937, at which time the high school courses were discontinued. In the fall of 1949, the Board of Trustees, exercising authority vested in it by the State Legislature, decided to make the college into a four-year, degree-granting institution. The Board authorized the adding of third-year college courses to begin with the fall semester of 1950, and fourth-year or senior courses to begin with the fall semester of 1951. By Act Eleven, January 24, 1951, the State Legislature changed the name of the institution to 'Southern State College'. In 1975, the college was approved and accredited to offer a master of education degree in selected academic areas. The name was changed to Southern Arkansas University on July 9, 1976. Southwest Technical Institute in Camden, Arkansas, joined the SAU system as Southern Arkansas University Tech in 1975.

Athletics

Southern Arkansas University is in the NCAA Division II as a member of the West Division of the Gulf South Conference.
The university's athletic nicknames are Muleriders and Lady Muleriders. The Muleriders take their name from the legend that the football team in the early 1900s had to ride mules from the college's agricultural department to catch the nearest train 6 miles north of the college in order to reach out-of-town football games. The teams are the only sports team in the US with the nickname and are often listed in top 10 lists of the most unusual or unique mascot names.
In 2006, The Mulerider baseball team won the Gulf South Conference championship.
In 2007, the Mulerider coed cheerleading squad competed at the NCA National Competition and placed 4th in Division II.

Facilities

The university operates eight residence halls: Bussey Hall (Females Only), East Hall, Greene Hall (Males Only), Harrod Hall, Honors Hall (North and South), Talbot Hall, and Talley Hall.^[1]
East Hall is the site of Residential College (Southern Arkansas University), a special program for freshmen which builds community and contact with faculty.^[2].
SAU also has apartment-style living arangements, called the University Village, which houses students who are at least juniors or of the age of 21.

Notable Alumni

★ Tommy Tuberville- Head football coach at Auburn University

★ Tracy Lawrence- Award winning country music performer

★ Jordan Babineaux- NFL Football player Seattle Seahawks

Location

Southern Arkansas University is located in Magnolia, Arkansas which, as of the census of 2000, has a population of 10,858. The city is situated in the southwestern part of the state 50 miles east of Texarkana on U.S. Routes 79, 82, and 371.

References

1. http://www.saumag.edu/student_affairs/university_housing/halls.asp
2. http://www.saumag.edu/student_affairs/residential_college/

External links

★ Southern Arkansas University