University of South Alabama

The University of South Alabama is a public, doctoral-level university in Mobile, Alabama, USA. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. At the time that this university was founded, a new concept was implemented in Alabama for the first time; that a public institution of higher education would be created that did not use race as a factor for enrollment. The only place in the state that was really open to this type of policy was the Mobile area. The rich cultural diversity of the Mobile area made it the obvious choice. No other areas of the state were willing to support such a school at that time. Plans for this university were being made as early as 1956.

The University is divided into nine colleges and schools, and includes Alabama's second state-supported medical school. The university has an enrollment of approximately 14,000 students.[1] To date, the University has awarded over 59,870 degrees.[2]

The University has an annual payroll of $245 million (US), with over 5,800 employees. It has remained one of Alabama's fastest growing universities for the past several years.[3]
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Academics and Campus Life
o 1.1 Colleges
o 1.2 Administration
* 2 Athletics
o 2.1 Men's Baseball
o 2.2 Other Sports
* 3 Traditions
* 4 The USA Rescue Squad
* 5 Greek Life
* 6 Alumni
* 7 Publications
* 8 References
o 8.1 External links

[edit] Academics and Campus Life

The university offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate degrees in nine colleges and schools. Most prominent fields offer master's level degrees in addition to undergraduate degrees, and some fields in the medical sciences, such as Lung Biology, pharmacology, and microbiology offer doctoral level degrees. Significant research is done by faculty members in these medical fields.

[edit] Colleges

The University of South Alabama has nine colleges:

* College of Allied Health Professions
* College of Arts and Sciences
* Mitchell College of Business
* College of Education
* College of Engineering
* College of Medicine
* College of Nursing
* School of Computer and Information Science
* School of Continuing Education and Special Programs

[edit] Administration

The University is governed by a Board of Trustees appointed by and including the governor of Alabama. The Board appoints a president of the University. Since the founding of the University, there have been two presidents: Frederick Palmer Whiddon (served 1963-1998) and V. Gordon Moulton (since 1998).

[edit] Athletics
South Alabama Jaguars logo
South Alabama Jaguars logo

USA participates in NCAA Division I athletics. It competes in the Eastern Division of the Sun Belt Conference. USA's athletics teams are nicknamed the Jaguars. Popular sports are baseball and men's basketball. USA sponsors 6 men's sports and 8 women's sports.

Men's Sports: Basketball, Baseball, Cross Country, Golf, Tennis, Track and Field

Women's Sports: Basketball, Softball, Cross Country, Golf, Tennis, Track and Field, Volleyball, Soccer

Official Athletic Webpage: www.usajaguars.com

[edit] Men's Baseball

The baseball team is typically a powerhouse in the Sun Belt Conference, and has produced a number of successful Major League players, such as Juan Pierre, Luis Gonzalez, Jon Lieber and Marlon Anderson. The head coach of the baseball team is Steve Kittrell, who has coached for 24 seasons. Coach Kittrell has led South Alabama to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances and 11 Sun Belt Conference championships.

Main article: South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball

The men's basketball team has a strong history, and former head coach John Pelphrey brought the team back to its winning ways. In 2006, South Alabama won the Sun Belt Conference Championship in basketball, beating Western Kentucky 95-70 in the championship game. They earned a bid into the 2006 NCAA Tournament doing this (their first since 1998), and were seeded 14th in the Minneapolis bracket. They lost to the 3rd-seeded Florida Gators, 76-50, in their first-round NCAA game. Florida went on to win the 2006 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. The 2005-2006 basketball season marked the best turnaround in the nation for a Division I basketball program. South Alabama was 10-18 in 2004-05 and went 24-7 in 2005-2006. This yielded a 12.5 differential to lead the nation, ahead of Brigham Young and Memphis who both had 11.5 differentials. South Alabama has now had back to back 20-win seasons.

[edit] Other Sports

* Men's and Women's Tennis are consistently ranked among the nation's best.
* The men's track team has been consistent in recent years. David Kimani won a Cross Country Championship in 1999 and two individual titles in 2000. Vincent Rono won the NCAA Outdoor Championship in 2006. The indoor track team captured a Conference Championship in 2007.
* Women's Softball was added to the South Alabama's sports in 2007.
* University administration also continues to examine the feasibility of spinning up an NCAA football team. With a recent push by faculty and the student body apparently carrying more momentum than previous attempts to add football at the school.[4]

[edit] Traditions

The USA Outlaws, founded by Daniel Souers and Jack Wu, is a student organization to support Jaguar athletics. The Outlaws are known for "painting up" their chests with letters to spell out sayings such as, "South In Your Mouth", "Bleed It Red", and "Jaguars", among other things. The Outlaws are also known for their chants during games such as "South In Your Mouth!" and "Bleed it Red!" They also refer to the Mitchell Center, where Jaguar basketball games are held, as "The Jungle". They've been featured on ESPN2, local newspapers, and local news reports.

Oozeball is an annual fundraiser benifiting the Universities student ambassadors, the Southerners. The game is regulation vollyball played in six inches of mud. The event draws a large crowd every spring.

The universities Greek community hosts a number of annual events including: The Alpha Omicron Pi softball tournament, the Alpha Gamma Delta kickball tournament, Chi Omega's songfest, the Pi Kappa Phi Miss USA pagent, Pi Kappa Alpha's Pikefest, Sigma Chi's Derby Days and Tau Kappa Epsilon's Trick or TEKE.

[edit] The USA Rescue Squad

The University of South Alabama is also proud to boast the first collegiate rescue squad in the state of Alabama. The squad was accredited by the Alabama Association of Rescue Squads in November 2005 and attend intramural events and special events on campus. The squad hopes to eventually provide 24-hour on-call coverage for the main campus of the University of South Alabama once they increase their funding and membership.

[edit] Greek Life

Sororities

* Alpha Omicron Pi
* Chi Omega
* Kappa Delta
* Phi Mu
* Alpha Kappa Alpha
* Alpha Gamma Delta
* Delta Sigma Theta
* Kappa Delta
* Zeta Phi Beta
* Sigma Gamma Rho



Fraternities

* Pi Kappa Alpha
* Pi Kappa Phi
* Kappa Sigma
* The Kappa Alpha Order
* Tau Kappa Epsilon
* Sigma Chi
* Delta Lambda Phi
* Alpha Phi Alpha
* Kappa Alpha Psi - on probation due to suspectable hazing, house is located off campus
* Phi Beta Sigma
* Phi Mu Alpha

[edit] Alumni

Alumni of the University of South Alabama include:

* Herbert L. "Sonny" Callahan, former United States Congressman (attended but did not graduate)
* Luis Gonzalez, Major League Baseball Player
* Jon Lieber, Major League Baseball Player
* Marlon Anderson, Major League Baseball Player
* Juan Pierre, Major League Baseball Player
* Eddie Stanky, Major League Baseball Player & Manager; head coach of USA Baseball Program
* Danny Treanor, Veteran Orlando, FL area television meteorologist

[edit] Publications

USA Vanguard.

[edit] References

1. ^ http://www.southalabama.edu/publicrelations/pressreleases/2007pr/082807.html
2. ^ http://www.southalabama.edu/publicrelations/pressreleases/2007pr/042307.html
3. ^ University of South Alabama, Office of Public Relations, "Quick Facts."
4. ^ http://www.nbc15online.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=9eb658ce-c11c-48b8-b149-e10119a95f50

[edit] External links

* University of South Alabama website
* USA College of Medicine
* USA athletics
* USA student newspaper
* USA Biomedical Library
* USA University Library