Lubbock Christian University (LCU) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

university associated with the

Churches of Christ The Churches of Christ is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations based on the ''sola scriptura'' doctrine. Their practices are based on Bible texts and draw on the early Christian church as described in the New Testament. T ...

and located in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

. Chartered originally as part of a grade school called Lubbock Christian School in 1954, the institution branched off as a junior college – Lubbock Christian College – in 1957. LCC became a senior college in 1972, then advanced to university status in fall of 1987. LCU has 65 undergraduate degrees. A fall 2015 count showed 1,958 students enrolled at Lubbock Christian University, of which 462 were

graduate student Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

History

In 1954 the State of Texas approved the operation of a private educational institution for students from

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

through college. An elementary school was established that year, and a junior college was added in 1957. F. W. Mattox was the founding president. LCU received accreditation as a senior college in 1972. Advancement to university status came in the fall of 1987. Presidents who have led Lubbock Christian University are F. W. Mattox (1957–1974), W. Joe Hacker (1974–1976), Harvie Pruitt (1976–1982), Steven S. Lemley (1982–1993), L. Ken Jones (1993–2012), L. Timothy Perrin (2012–2019), and Scott McDowell (2020–present).

Housing

Katie Rogers Hall is a women's residence for 250 students. It was built in the 1960s and underwent major renovation in 1999 and again in Summer 2017. The Katie Rogers Courtyard houses forty-eight upperclass women with private bedrooms and semi-private bathrooms. Johnson Hall is the men's residence and can house nearly two hundred men. It was renovated in Summer 2018. Mabee Hall has capacity to house 48 upperclassmen. Residents have private bedrooms and semi-private bathrooms. The university also offers university apartments for upperclassmen, married students with no children, and graduate students. Apartments are located on the west and east sides of campus.

Campus information

The Mabee Student Union Building (SUB) has a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

, student affairs office, student government office, the Chap Store, and a

snack bar A snack bar usually refers to an inexpensive food counter that is part of a permanent structure where snack foods and light meals are sold. Description A beach snack bar is often a small building situated high on the sand. Besides soft dri ...

. Built in 1961, the Betty Hancock Campus Center once served as the university's

cafeteria A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school ...

. A newer, more contemporary cafeteria, known as "the Caf", has since been added. A parlor is also available for receptions. The McDonald Moody Auditorium has a seating capacity of 1166 and serves as the venue for daily chapel assemblies. The Allison Music center is adjacent to the Moody auditorium. The center has rehearsal halls for bands and choruses, 12 practice rooms, and also houses the music professors' offices. The Rhodes–Perrin Recreation Center (previously known as "Field House") serves as the student recreation center and houses the Ramona Perrin Fitness Center. The building has a volleyball, basketball, futsal and badminton courts, along with a 60-foot free standing rock wall, renovated locker rooms, group fitness studio. The department of Exercise and Sport Sciences has its offices there. The Mabee American Heritage Center houses the department of history,

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, and English, the Cardwell Lecture Hall, and administrative offices. Other administrative offices are housed in F. W. Mattox Administrative Building. Built in 1958, the Mattox Administrative building was the first permanent brick structure on campus. The 2nd floor of the building contains the offices of the department of Business. The Mabee Science Laboratory, built in 1970, was extensively renovated and rebuilt, and renamed the Dobbs Center for Business to house the College of Business. The Ling Science Center houses the department of Natural and Physical Sciences. The building also contains laboratories and equipment rooms. The Associates Behavioral Science Building was built in 1967 and houses the Department of Behavioral Sciences which include psychology and sociology. The Maddox-Pugh Educational Center houses the department of Education, a computer lab, several classrooms, and the West Texas Core Knowledge Center. The C.L. Kay Christian Development Center, built in 1974 (significantly renovated in recent years) houses the Al and Patricia Smith College of Biblical Studies, as well as the Honors College. Bible department The Diana Ling Center for Academic Achievement was completed in 2007 and houses the Communications, Fine Arts and Chap Radio. The Center for Student Success is also located in this facility. The Mabee Nursing Center opened in 1994, was recently renamed the Mabee Social Work & Criminal Justice Building. The

Rip Griffin Center The Rip Griffin Center is an indoor arena on the campus of Lubbock Christian University in Lubbock, Texas. The 1,950-seat arena opened in 2000 and is named in honor of former LCU board of trustees member Bobbie Ray "Rip" Griffin (1929-2017), a na ...

(aka "The Rip") houses the university's intercollegiate athletic teams. It can seat up to 1,925 with an additional 565 when floor seating is utilized. Lubbock Christian University, Lubbock, TX IMG 4699

Lubbock Christian University, Lubbock, TX IMG 4699

On the north end of campus is the Cardwell Welcome Center. Completed in 2010, the Welcome Center qualified for a Platinum Certification from the

U.S. Green Building Council The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a private 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and op ...

under its LEED,

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

Green Building Rating System. The beautiful Talkington Center for Nursing Excellence houses not only the LCU Department of Nursing, but the

Covenant School of Nursing Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

as well. In the west end of the building, the Collier Auditorium seats around 500.

Student life

Although the university is not host to affiliates of national fraternities and sororities, nonetheless Lubbock Christian University has gender-based "Social Clubs". The women's social clubs are Christliche Damen, Kappa Phi Kappa, Lambda Omega Alpha, and Zeta Gamma. The men's social clubs are Koinonia, Kyodai, and Alpha Chi Delta. There is also one fraternity on campus, Sub T-16. The fraternity Sub T-16 has chapters at other churches of Christ-affiliated schools such as

Abilene Christian University Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a Private university, private Churches of Christ, Christian university in Abilene, Texas. It was founded in 1906 as ''Childers Classical Institute''. ACU is one of the largest private universities in the Sout ...

and

Harding University Harding University is a private university with its main campus in Searcy, Arkansas. It is the largest private university in Arkansas. Established in 1924, the institution offers undergraduate, graduate, and pre-professional programs. The uni ...

. Sub T-16 fraternity was founded on the campus by F. W. Mattox, who also served as the first president of Lubbock Christian. The university is also affiliated with several professional organizations including

Reserve Officer Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

(ROTC), Students in Free Enterprise, and the Student Education Association. The university's online newspaper is the ''DusterToday''. LCU also has an ''

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

'' ensemble called Best Friends. They tour across the country and record studio albums. Several of their alumni have gone on to work for

The Acappella Company ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, an established member of the ''a cappella '' community.

Athletics

The Lubbock Christian athletic teams are called the Chaparrals and Lady Chaps. The university is a member of the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

ranks, primarily competing in the

Lone Star Conference The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the southwestern United States, with schools in Tex ...

(LSC) since the 2019–20 academic year. The Chaparrals and Lady Chaps previously had competed in the D-II Heartland Conference from 2013–14 to 2018–19; in the

Sooner Athletic Conference The Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Originally developed as a five-team conference of Oklahoma-based schools, the SAC now boasts 12 sc ...

(SAC) of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA) from 1994–95 to 2012–13; and in the

Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA) was a college sports association that operated from 1909 to 1932. All of its members were located in the US state of Texas. History Founded in 1909 by Southwestern University, Austin College, ...

(TIAA) of the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

ranks from 1979–80 to 1981–82. Lubbock Christian competes in 17 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, cross country, golf,

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, tennis and track & field; while women's sports include

, cross country, golf,

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

, tennis, track & field and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading and eSports.

Women's basketball

On April 4, 2016, the Lady Chaps defeated the Seawolves of the University of Alaska-Anchorage in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

78–73 to cap an undefeated season and win the

NCAA Division II women's basketball championship The NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament (officially styled as "Championship" instead of "Tournament") is an annual tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II women's college basketball nati ...

. The win happened in the first year the Lady Chaps were eligible for NCAA Division II post-season play after more than 30 years of playing in the NAIA.

Notable alumni

R. Gerald Turner Robert Gerald Turner (born November 25, 1945) is the President of Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas. One of the most highly-compensated university presidents in the United States, Turner has been hailed as a "transformational" f ...

, President of

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

Larry Hays Larry Hays is a US college baseball, basketball, women's basketball, and softball coach. Hewas the head baseball coach at Lubbock Christian University (LCU) (1971–1986) and Texas Tech University (1987–2008). He was the head coach of the LCU Cha ...

, retired

Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball The Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball team represents Texas Tech University in NCAA Division I college baseball. The team competes in the Big 12 Conference and plays at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park. Their head coach is Tim Tadlock and is enter ...

coach * Matt Martin, baseball coach with the Detroit Tigers *

The Otwell Twins The Otwell Twins are an American singing duo made up of identical twin brothers Roger and David, born August 2, 1956, in Tulia, Texas. They are best known as members of ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1977 to 1982. Singing and playing the guitar ...

, singers on ''

The Lawrence Welk Show ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 195 ...

'',

Amarillo Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat, seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County. It is the List of cities in Texas by population, 14th-most populous city in Texas and th ...

businessmen *

Britt Bonneau Britt Bonneau (born May 11, 1970) is an American college baseball coach who had been the head coach at Abilene Christian (ACU) from 1997 to the competition of the 2018 season. Under Bonneau, ACU played in nine NCAA Tournaments. Previously, he wa ...

, college baseball coach at Abilene Christian *

Randy Velarde Randy Lee Velarde (born November 24, 1962) is an American former baseball infielder and utility player who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played the majority of his career for the New York Yankees, and also played for the ...

, Retired

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player * Rob Evans, former head men's basketball coach,

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

, and

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

Brad Rogers Brad Rogers is an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) since the 2017 NFL season, wearing uniform number 126. Career Rogers began officiating in 1991, working Texas high school football games. From there, Rogers becam ...

, Football Official with the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

* Marvin Lee Aday, musician and actor – attended briefly in 1965 then transferred to

North Texas State College The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

* L. Timothy Perrin, attorney and sixth LCU president

Gallery

File:Roadrunner mascot at Lubbock Christian University IMG_4697.JPG, The

roadrunner The roadrunners (genus ''Geococcyx''), also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern and south-central United States and Mexico, us ...

or chaparral is the sports emblem of Lubbock Christian University. File:"For God So Loved the World," Lubbock, TX IMG 4724.JPG, Inscribed in the sidewalk at Lubbock Christian University is the first part of John 3:16. File:Original main building, Lubbock Christian College IMG 4703.JPG, Original main building of former Lubbock Christian College File:Rhodes-Perrin Field House, Lubbock Christian University IMG 4727.JPG, Rhodes-Perrin Field House File:McDonald-Moody Auditorium, Lubbock Christian University IMG 4723.JPG, McDonald Moody Auditorium File:Science Building at Lubbock Christian University IMG 4712.JPG, Science Building at Lubbock Christian University proclaims "In the Beginning God Created the Heaven and the Earth." File:Maddox-Pugh Educational Center, Lubbock Christian University IMG 4709.JPG, Maddox-Pugh Educational Center File:Revised Mabee American Heritage Center, Lubbock, TX IMG 4729.JPG, Mabee American Heritage Center File:Carl and Gladys Allison Music Center, Lubbock Christian University IMG 4726.JPG, Carl and Gladys Allison Music Center File:LCU bench, Class of 1978, Lubbock, TX IMG 4714.JPG, Gift of the Class of 1978 to Lubbock Christian University

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{Coord, 33, 34, 25, N, 101, 56, 1, W, region:US, display=title 1957 establishments in Texas