Sam Houston State University

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Sam Houston State University, (known as SHSU and Sam, for short) founded in 1879, is a public university located in Huntsville, Texas. It is one of the oldest purpose-built institutions for the instruction of teachers west of the Mississippi River and the first such institution of its type in the State of Texas and the southwestern United States. It is named for one of Texas' founding fathers, Sam Houston, who made his home in the city. The university is part of the Texas State University System and is a comprehensive, doctoral granting university enrolling approximately 16,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

[edit] History

Created by legislation signed by Governor Oran M. Roberts on April 21, 1879, Sam Houston Normal Institute's dedicated goal was to train teachers for the public schools of Texas—the first of its kind in the southwestern United States. On October 10 of the same year, the first class of 110 students and four faculty commenced instruction on the site of what had once been the campus of Austin College.

When the university first opened, students received a certification to teach in the state's elementary and secondary schools, but after 1919, the university began to award bachelor's degrees. In 1923, the school was renamed the Sam Houston State Teachers College. In 1936, the school awarded its first post-baccalaureate degree. In 1965, the school was renamed, again, to Sam Houston State College, and, finally, to Sam Houston State University in 1969.

The university celebrated its 125th year in 2004.

In April, 2007, Texas House Bill 1418 passed without objection in the Texas Legislature; the bill prevents the Texas State University System’s board of regents from changing SHSU’s name.

[edit] Campus

Sam Houston State University sits on 272 acres in the central area of Huntsville, TX. Recent construction of an expanded mall area of campus will include benches, tables, wireless internet, and more greenspace in the heart of campus. The mall area also includes two clock towers and a water fountain.

An Entrance to SHSU

The Old Main Pit

The SHSU Parking Garage

[edit] Academics

Sam's programs in criminal justice are particularly strong given the school's long relationship with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, headquartered in Huntsville, and the local state prison. Recently, the Department of History and School of Music are experiencing growth, the later attracting performers to its reputable music education program. Additionally, many students choose to go to Sam because of its traditional academic strength, its education program.

Recently, the university has become a leader in distance education, offering both bachelor's and master's degrees via the web in several areas, including history and criminal justice.

Currently (as of 12/2006), the university offers:

• 79 undergraduate degree programs
• 48 masters' programs
• 5 doctoral programs (Criminal Justice, Educational Leadership, Counselor Education, Clinical Psychology, and Reading)

[edit] Academic subdivisions

Sam Houston State's academic departments and programs are organized into five colleges. Colleges at Sam Houston State University are:

• College of Arts and Sciences
• College of Business Administration
• College of Criminal Justice
• College of Education
• College of Humanities and Social Sciences

[edit] Athletics

Sam Houston State's colors are orange and white and their nickname is the Bearkats. Sam Houston State sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (Championship Subdivision for football) in the Southland Conference. SHSU's primary rival is Stephen F. Austin State University and tensions between the two schools can run high before major sporting events that pit one against the other. Several fights have broken out at the rivalry games in recent years, although the Bearkats have dominated the rivalry for the past decade and own an all-time advantage in the football series 45-32-2, including 6 of the last 7. The basketball series, however is dead even at 89-89 all time.

The Bearkats have had recent success with the men's and women's outdoor track teams capturing the Southland Conference titles in May 2005 at Bowers Stadium in Huntsville, Texas. As a whole, the Sam Houston State athletic department captured the Southland Conference Commissioner's Cup in 2005, 2006, and 2007 for all-around athletic department and topped the Southland Conference for all-academic recognition. The kats are the only athletic department in the Southland Conference to get the Commissioner's Cup for 3 consecutive years. In the same 3 year stretch, Sam Houston boasts both the best average student athlete GPA as well as the highest number of student athletes named to the Southland Conference honor roll. This is particularly evident in the men's basketball program, which fielded 6 of the 13 student athletes who gained Academic All-Conference honors, including junior Ryan Bright, who was also named student athlete of the year for men's basketball.

[edit] Football

The football team is currently in its third season under head coach Todd Whitten, who played quarterback at rival institution Stephen F. Austin University. However, Whitten has said that he has no allegiances to SFA and that he was looking forward to “going up and kicking those guys' asses” leading up to the rivalry game (termed the “Battle of the Piney Woods”) in 2007. Whitten's record at Sam Houston heading into this year's rivalry game is 12-16 overall.

Whitten was preceded by Ron Randleman, who served as head coach at Sam Houston from 1982 to 2004. Randleman took over in the school's first year competing in NCAA Division II and four years later, the Bearkats moved up to Division I. He wasted no time in competing in Division I, leading the team to the playoffs in the school's first season in the NCAA's highest division in 1986. The next season, the Bearkats joined the Southland Conference. In the school's Division I history, the Bearkats have claimed 3 Southland Conference titles (1991, 2001, 2004) and 4 playoff appearances (1986, 1991, 2001, 2004). They have posted an overall Division I playoff record of 3-4. Their most successful playoff run came in the final season of Randleman's coaching career in 2004 when the team made an appearance in the semifinals of the Division I playoffs. This was made possible by a remarkable 4th quarter comeback in the 2nd round at Eastern Washington when the Bearkats rallied from 20 points down and scoring the tying TD pass from Dustin Long to Jason Mathenia as time expired, winning the game on the PAT. This is still remembered as one of the greatest comebacks in Division I playoff football history. The Bearkats also shared the NAIA national title with Concordia (MN) in 1964, when they finished the national championship game in a 7-7 tie.

In recent history, the football team has had considerable success with transfer quarterbacks transferring from Football Bowl Subdivision Schools (formerly I-A). In 1999, Chris Chaloupka transferred from Oklahoma State. In 2001, Josh McCown transferred from Southern Methodist University. In 2004, Dustin Long transferred from Texas A&M University. The team is currently led by the junior QB transfer from Oklahoma, Rhett Bomar.

Bomar served a one year suspension for violating NCAA regulations for taking money for work he did not perform while working at a Norman, Oklahoma car dealership. This became a huge scandal for the Oklahoma program. When asked about the controversy, Bomar took full responsibility for his actions while declining to go into great detail, but added that there was another side to the story that had not been told and hinted that he might talk about it at some point in the future. Through 7 games in the 2007 season, the team is 3-4 and Bomar has thrown for 1,799 yards, 10 TD, 6 INT with a QB rating of 125.1. He has also rushed for 313 yards and 5 TD. He currently ranks 9th in total offense in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA).

[edit] Basketball

The men's basketball program is among the most efficient programs in NCAA Division I, ranking # 2 nationally in cost per win in 2006 at less than $25,000 per win with 18 wins against Division I opponents (21 overall). The program has been the most consistent in the conference over the past decade under the direction of head coach Bob Marlin, winning regular season titles in 2000 and 2003 with a NCAA Tournament appearance in 2003 (the first in school history). The Bearkat men's basketball team has won more games in the nine seasons under Coach Marlin than any other Southland school. The team also ranks #2 in wins among Division I schools in Texas in the current decade behind the Texas Longhorns. The Bearkat teams under Coach Marlin have compiled four 20-win seasons, including the two most recent seasons. In 2005-06, the Bearkats posted the best non-conference record among Division I programs at 9-3, which was also the best non-conference record posted by a Southland program since 1991. Marlin's teams have been the only teams among Texas Division I programs to win at least 2 conference championships in the past 6 seasons. Under the direction of Bob Marlin, Bearkat men's basketball players have broken 23 school records and 30 Division I school records.

[edit] Mascot

Sam Houston's Bearkat is represented by the mascot team of Sammy and Airkat who entertain and lead crowds in cheers during sporting events. Sammy's two minute routine earned him a national championship of the mascots division at the 2005 United Spirit Association Collegiate National Championship. The spelling of kat with a 'k' stems from the distinction of the mascot as a mythical animal that is a cross between a bear and a tiger.

[edit] Campus Media

The SHSU School of Mass Communication operates KSHU, a student-run radio (90.5 FM) and television station (cable channel 7), broadcasting news, sports, and entertainment programming for the campus and community. The Houstonian is the student-published twice-weekly campus newspaper. Broadcast studios and offices for all three media are located within the Dan Rather Communication Building.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Arts and media

• Dana Andrews - Hollywood actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1963 to 1965
• Roger Creager - Country-Western musician
• Frank Q. Dobbs - Writer, producer and director of Western film dramas
• Roy Hazelwood - FBI profiler and author
• Richard Linklater - Oscar-nominated film director who attended SHSU
• Debra Sue Maffett - Miss America, 1983; RTF major; now host of "The Harvest Show" on LeSea Broadcasting Network
• Dan Rather - Newscaster (1953, B.A. Journalism)
• Molly Louise Shepard - American playwright who attended SHSU in 1978 as an RTF major; 1979-80 as a theatre major; and transferred to the University of Texas at Dallas in 1980
• Jack Tinsley - Fort Worth Star-Telegram executive editor who led the paper to two Pulitzer Prizes in the 1980s

[edit] Athletics

• Walt Anderson - National Football League referee (1974)
• Michael Bankston - professional football player Defensive Tackle 3rd round draft choice in 1991 by the Arizona Cardnials. Played ten years in the NFL for AZ, Wash., Cin.)
• Kenneth Callaway - professional bull rider PRCA
• Keith Davis - safety for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys
• Lou "Skip, Sweet Lou, Sweetness" Ferrell - baseball (2001-2003)
• Keith Heinrich - tight end for the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• James Andrew Higham - professional Arena 2 Football Katy Copperheads player (2006)
• Kenneth "The Spiral" Jackson- Set NCAA Division 1AA records by playing 11 different positions (C,LG,RG,LT,RT,TE,QB,DT,DE,HB,FB) (2004)
• Ernie Koy - professional baseball player
• Josh McCown - backup quarterback for the NFL's Oakland Raiders
• Steve Sparks - professional baseball player (1987)
• Derrick Harris - professional Arena 2 Football Rio Grande Valley Dorados player (2006)
• D.D. Terry - running back for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars
• Matt Dominguez - wide receiver for the CFL's Saskatchewan Rough Riders

[edit] Politics and religion

• Hiram Abiff Boaz - a Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South
• Borris L. Miles, member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 146[[1]]
• Cecil J. Picard -- Louisiana educator, legislator, state superintendent of education (1996-2007)
• Thaksin Shinawatra - former Prime Minister of Thailand (1979, Ph.D. in Criminal Justice)
• Charles Wilson (Texas politician)

[edit] Trivia

• The Alcalde is the university's annual yearbook, published from 1910-1998 and 2003-present; it was named in honor of Texas Governor Oran Roberts whose nickname was "The Old Alcalde."^[1]
• Contrary to an underground joke, repeated by alumnus Dan Rather in his autobiography, The Camera Never Blinks (page 17), the school was never known as "Sam Houston Institute of Teaching" or "Sam Houston Institute of Technology".
• The campus stood in for the fictional Austin University in the motion picture The Life of David Gale.
• Huntsville is often referred to as "Huntsvegas" by attending students and many T-shirts from various social events bear the same nickname.

[edit] References

1. ^ Alcalde. The Buildings of Sam Houston State University. Retrieved on 2006-05-24.

[edit] External links

• Sam Houston State University
• Sam Houston State University Athletics
• Today@Sam - Sam Houston State University News
• Sam Houston State University distance education
• Sam Houston State University Graduate Studies
• Sam Houston State University Newton Gresham Library
• The Buildings of Sam Houston State University
• 90.5 The Kat and Cable Channel 7
• HuntsVegasLive.com Internet Talk Show For and By the Students of SHSU
• Huntsville Cable Channel 78 ft. Sports, News, & Entertainment
• VivaHuntsvegas.com - Independent Student Run Podcast News & Variety Show

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