Sam Houston State University (SHSU or Sam) is a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...

in Huntsville, Texas. It was founded in 1879 and is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first

normal school A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

s west of the Mississippi River and the first in Texas. It is named for

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...

, who made his

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

in the city and is buried there. SHSU is a member of the

Texas State University System The Texas State University System (TSUS) was created in 1911 to oversee the state's normal schools. Since its creation it has broadened its focus and comprises institutions of many different scopes. The other systems of state universities are th ...

and has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students across over 80 undergraduate, 59 master's, and 10 doctoral degree programs. The university also offers more than 20 online bachelor's and graduate degrees.

History

19th and 20th centuries

The Sam Houston State University campus was originally home to

Austin College Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

institution that relocated to Sherman, Texas, in 1876. Austin Hall was constructed in 1851 and is the oldest university building west of the Mississippi still in operation. It was renovated in 2012 and is used today for special meetings and events. Notably,

himself attended and participated in the original dedication of the building.Austin Hall
SHSU Campus Map. Retrieved 2012-02-09. Created by legislation signed by Governor Oran M. Roberts on San Jacinto Day, April 21, 1879, Sam Houston Normal Institute's dedicated goal was to train teachers for the public schools of Texas. It was the first teacher-training school in the

southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

. On October 10 of the same year, the first class of 110 students and four faculty commenced instruction. The first president of the school, Bernard Mallon, died eleven days after the institute opened.SHSU
SHSU History. Retrieved 2012-02-09. The one-room Peabody Memorial Library was the first free-standing campus library in Texas; it was constructed in 1901 with funds provided by the George Peabody Foundation. According to the Normal Institute's catalogue, the library was "a very handsome structure, and especially designed for the purpose for which it is to be used. It is said that no school of this kind in the South has a Building equal to it."Peabody Memorial Library
SHSU Campus Map. Retrieved 2012-02-09. Fully restored, it is now used as a venue for special university events. When the university first opened, students received a certification to teach in the state's elementary and secondary schools. After 1919, the university began to award bachelor's degrees. In 1936, the school awarded its first postbaccalaureate degree.

21st century

SHSU celebrated its 125th year of operation in 2004. The university launched its first capital campaign in March 2016 with a $50 million goal and closed the campaign's books on August 31, 2010, with $61.2 million in commitments. The university has 110,000 living, addressable alumni and an active Alumni Association with 10,000 members, holding 200 meetings and events annually. On 30 May 2012, SHSU-The Woodlands Center opened on the Lone Star College-Montgomery campus. The facility includes and has a five-story parking garage. The university also operates SHSU-University Park on the property of

Lone Star College-University Park Lone may refer to: People *Lone (given name), a given name (including a list of people with this name) * Lone (musician), Matt Cutler, an electronic musician from Nottingham, United Kingdom * Lone (surname), a surname (including a list of people ...

in unincorporated Harris County near Tomball.

Name changes

Throughout the course of its history, Sam has undergone a number of name changes: * 1879 (April 21): founded as Sam Houston Normal Institute * 1923: Sam Houston State Teachers College * 1965: Sam Houston State College * 1969: Sam Houston State University In April 2007, Texas House Bill 1418 passed without objection in the Texas Legislature, preventing The Texas State University System's Board of Regents from changing the university's name to Texas State-Sam Houston. Contrary to a popular joke—repeated by alumnus Dan Rather in his 1978 autobiography, ''The Camera Never Blinks''—the school was never known as "Sam Houston Institute of Teaching" or "Sam Houston Institute of Technology." This joke was expanded in 2006 into an entire feature film, '' Accepted'', which takes place on the campus of the fictional South Harmon Institute of Technology.

Main campus

The oak-studded rural main campus sits on in the central area of Huntsville. Two large agricultural complexes feature a teaching and research farm and a rodeo arena. The campus also features a planetarium, an observatory, a body farm, and an 18-hole golf course named The Bearkat Course. The mall area of the main campus includes Blatchley Bell Tower and Clock and a fountain. The campus stood in for the fictional Austin University in the motion picture ''

The Life of David Gale ''The Life of David Gale'' is a 2003 dramatic crime thriller film directed by Alan Parker and written by Charles Randolph. The film is an international co-production, between the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. It was Parker's final ...

''.

Academics

Sam Houston State's academic departments and programs are organized into eight colleges: * College of Business Administration * College of Criminal Justice * College of Education * College of Arts and Media * College of Humanities and Social Sciences * College of Science & Engineering Technology * College of Health Sciences * College of Osteopathic Medicine Additionally, the university enrolls more than 350 high achieving undergraduate students in the selective Elliott T. Bowers Honors College. Programs within the college of Criminal Justice were recently ranked by the ''Journal of Criminal Justice'' in the top five nationally. The theater and dance programs were ranked by ''Dance Spectrum Magazine'' in the top 25 nationally, and according to the National Dance Association, SHSU is home to quality athletic dance team.About SHSU
About SHSU. Retrieved 2012-02-09. The university offers the only Professional Golf Management program in Texas, one of 20 in the country. SHSU also has one of the oldest speech and debate programs in the nation. As of May 2016, the university offers: *Eighty-eight undergraduate degree programs *Fifty-nine masters' programs *Eight doctoral programs (Clinical Psychology, Counselor Education, Criminal Justice, Developmental Education Administration, Educational Leadership, Forensic Science, Instructional Systems Design & Technology, and Literacy) *Twenty-one certificates

College of Criminal Justice

SHSU's College of Criminal Justice is the largest and one of the oldest criminal justice programs in the nation. Huntsville has long been associated with criminal justice, being the co-headquarters of the

Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails, ...

and the home of several prisons, including the Walls Unit which houses the state's execution chamber, located about two blocks north of the campus. In 1970, the college became one of the first programs in the U.S. to offer the Ph.D. in criminal justice, and it was the first institution in the State of Texas to offer the Masters of Science in Forensic Science. SHSU's PhD in Clinical Science with a Forensic emphasis is one of seven such accredited programs in the U.S. The college faculty were recently recognized as the 4th most productive nationally in their field in terms of research, and their areas of expertise range from serial murder, hate crime, and terrorism to policing, law, corrections, and security. The College of Criminal Justice includes the headquarters of the

Texas Forensic Science Commission The Texas Forensic Science Commission (FSC) is a state agency of Texas, headquartered on the grounds of the College of Criminal Justice of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. The commission investigates complaints about misuse or neglect r ...

. It also houses the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas, which specializes in training for local, state, and federal law enforcement officers in the area of management and supervision. The college also houses a working courtroom where students can observe and analyze real trials.

Texas Studies

The university has been commended as of late for offering courses that encourage the study of the lore, the lure, and the history of the

Lone Star State Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

. In 2012, digital archivists at the university library worked with officials at a local veterans museum to launch the Texas Military Veterans Oral History collection.

Athletics

Sam Houston State's colors are bright orange and

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

and their nickname is the Bearkats. Sam Houston State sports teams participate in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

(Championship Subdivision for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

) in the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

. The Sam Houston Bearkats won the 2020 NCAA Division I Football Championship over South Dakota State by a score of 23-21 and finished with a perfect 10–0 season record. The victory was the first Bearkat football National Championship since winning the 1964 NAIA Championship. The 2020 season also marked Sam Houston's third trip to the championship game in ten seasons. SHSU's athletic teams have been nicknamed "The Bearkats" since 1923 when the university's name was changed by the Texas State Legislature from Sam Houston Normal Institute to Sam Houston State Teachers College. Prior to 1923, the varsity sports teams were nicknamed "The Normals". It is doubtful those who coined the "Bearkat" nickname had a particular animal in mind. More likely, the name came from a popular local saying of the time, "tough as a Bearkat!" The late Reed Lindsey, who was a student/athlete in the 1920s and later retired as University registrar, once said that "it was a good fighting name of the time." Since the animal in the saying was thought more mythical than real, the spelling settled upon was "Bearkat." However, there are some arguments that the Sam Houston Bearkat is modeled after either a Binturong or a Kinkajou. In the late 1940s, then SHSU president Harmon Lowman attempted to change the SHSU mascot from Bearkats to "Ravens" (after General Sam Houston's

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

nickname). Mrs. Vernon Schuder reported that the alumni were polled and she voted for the raven but that "all those old Bearkats beat us out!" A Sammy Bearkat mascot character, with the later addition of a Samantha, began appearing at SHSU sports events in 1959. Samantha has since been retired.

Rivalry

SHSU's primary rival is

Stephen F. Austin State University } Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) is a public university in Nacogdoches, Texas. It was founded as a teachers' college in 1923 and subsequennly renamed after one of Texas's founding fathers, Stephen F. Austin. Its campus resides on part ...

(SFA) and tensions between the two schools can run high before major sporting events that pit one against the other. The annual football game between SHSU and SFA, named the Battle of the Piney Woods, dates back to 1923. Since 2010, the series has been played at NRG Stadium in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Mascot

Sam Houston's Bearkat is represented by Sammy Bearkat, a costumed mascot, who has entertained and led crowds in cheers during sporting events since 1959.

Club sports

Club sports are very popular at SHSU. Some available to students include: Powerlifting, Ultimate Frisbee, lacrosse, rugby, martial arts, trap and skeet, inline hockey, basketball, volleyball, soccer, tennis, and baseball. The Sam Houston Quidditch team won in 2013 the IQA World Cup VI Division 2 championship. The Spirit Programs, cheer, dance, and mascots, of Sam Houston hold the most National titles out of all of the sports and recreational activities at Sam Houston. The coed team is the reigning champions from NCA this past April. The All Girl team made school history by winning their first National Championship in April 2014.

Campus media

The SHSU School of Mass Communication operates

KSHU KSHU and KSHU-TV are student-run non-commercial college radio and student television station operations located at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. Broadcast and transmitter facilities are located within the Dan Rather Communi ...

, a student-run radio (90.5 FM) and television (cable channel 7) station, 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. The ''Alcalde'' was the university's annual yearbook, published from 1910 to 1998 and 2003 to 2006; it was named in honor of Texas Governor Oran Roberts, whose nickname was "The Old

Alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...

Affiliated institutions

The university operates a charter school network: the administrative offices are on the university grounds in Huntsville, but all of the charter schools are in

Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States, encompassing nine counties along the Gulf Co ...

. The network began in 2017 as

laboratory schools A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which science, scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: ...

. The university chose to use space in daycare facilities to host its charter campuses. * Brighton Academy (K-6) * Cypress Trails (K-5) * Greengate Academy (K-5) * Spring Woods (K-2) - Located at Spring Woods United Methodist Church

Notable alumni

* Dana Andrews, actor *

Michael Bankston Michael Kane Bankston (March 12, 1970) is a former defensive tackle and defensive end who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Bankston played for the Arizona Cardinals, Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals and Cincinnati Bengals. He w ...

, former U.S. football player * Fred Beene, former MLB Pitcher * Ray Benge former MLB pitcher *

Rhett Bomar Rhett Matthew Bomar (born July 2, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Oklahoma and Sam Houston State. He ...

, former U.S. football player * Ken Boswell, former MLB second baseman *

Jeremiah Briscoe Jeremiah Briscoe (born August 15, 1993) is a former gridiron football quarterback. He played college football at Sam Houston State, where he was a two-time winner of the Walter Payton Award. He played for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Foo ...

, former U.S football player *

Katie Rose Clarke Katherine "Katie" Rose Clarke (born August 25, 1984 in Friendswood, Texas) is an American musical theater actress. Early life Clarke was born on August 25, 1984 in Friendswood, Texas. She got her start acting and singing in the United Methodist ...

, actress * Priscilla Coleman, artist *

Jerry Coker Jerry Coker (born November 28, 1932) is an American jazz saxophonist and pedagogue. Coker was born in South Bend, Indiana. He attended Indiana University in the early 1950s, but left school to become a member of Woody Herman's Herd. Coker eventua ...

, jazz educator * Davion Davis, current U.S. football player free agent * Keith Davis, former U.S. football player *

Mary DeChambres Mary DeChambres is an American film and television editor, and two-time Emmy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner. She sits on the board of directors for the Motion Picture Editors Guild. Early life and education DeChambres grew up on a farm ...

, film and television picture editor *

Tim Denton Timothy Jerome Denton, Sr. (born February 2, 1973) is a former American football defensive back in the National Football League. He played for the Washington Redskins in 1998 and 1999, and he played for the San Diego Chargers in 2000. Denton wa ...

, former U.S. football player * Lachlan Edwards, current U.S. football player *

Ashley Etienne Ashley Danielle Etienne (born February 21, 1978) is an American political advisor who served as the communications director for Vice President Kamala Harris. She is the former communications director and senior advisor to Nancy Pelosi, the first ...

John Ferling John E. Ferling (born 1940) is a professor emeritus of history at the University of West Georgia. As a leading historian in the American Revolution and founding era, he has appeared in television documentaries on PBS, the History Channel, C-SPAN ...

author, historian, professor * Billy Gunn, WWE professional wrestler *

P. J. Hall Patrick "P. J." Hall Jr. (born April 5, 1995) is an American football defensive end for the Memphis Showboats (2022), Memphis Showboats of the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Sam Houston ...

, current U.S. football player *

Keith Heinrich Keith Charles Heinrich (born March 19, 1979) is a former American football tight end. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He was a two-sport star at Sam Houston State, playing football and basketball ...

, former U.S. football player *

Phil Hennigan Phillip Winston Hennigan (April 10, 1946 – June 17, 2016) was a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1969 to 1973 with the Cleveland Indians and New York Mets. Early life Hennigan was born in Jasper, Texas. He attended J ...

, former MLB pitcher * Abby Johnson, activist *

Bryce Johnson Bryce Owen Johnson (born April 18, 1977) is an American actor. Early life Johnson born in Reno, Nevada. He has an older brother, Brendon, and a younger brother, Brett. He moved to Denver, Colorado, at the age of five. He graduated from high sch ...

, outfielder for the MLB

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

Matt Langwell Matthew August Langwell (born May 6, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2013 for the Cleveland Indians and Arizona Diamondbacks. Amateur career Langwell attended Rice University ...

, former MLB pitcher *

Richard Linklater Richard Stuart Linklater (; born July 30, 1960) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for films that revolve mainly around suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. His films include the comedies '' ...

, movie director * Dustin Long, former U.S. football player * Marcus Luttrell, former U.S. Navy Seal *

Rick Matula Richard Carlton Matula (born November 22, 1953) is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1979 to 1981 for the Atlanta Braves. Listed at 6' 0", 190 lb., he batted and threw right handed. Born in Wharton, Texas, Matula ...

former MLB pitcher *

Josh McCown Joshua Treadwell McCown (born July 4, 1979) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He attended Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville, Texas, where he was named the East Texas Player of the Year and earned All-State honorabl ...

, current U.S. football player * Joel McDonald, voice actor * Ryan O'Hearn current MLB first baseman for Kansas City Royals * Dan Rather, journalist *

Ralph Ruthstrom Ralph David Ruthstrom (July 12, 1921 – March 29, 1962) was an American football running back and defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland / Los Angeles Rams. Ruthstrom also played in ...

, former U.S. football player *

Shea Serrano Shea Serrano is an American author, journalist, and former teacher. He is best known for his work with the sports and pop culture websites, ''The Ringer (website), The Ringer'' and ''Grantland'', as well as his books, including ''The Rap Year Bo ...

, author *

Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin Shinawatra ( th, ทักษิณ ชินวัตร; ; ; Chinese: 丘達新; cnr, Taksin Šinavatra; born 26 July 1949), is a Thai businessman, politician and visiting professor. He served in the Thai Police from 1973 to 1987, a ...

, former Thai prime minister * Caleb Smith current MLB pitcher * Steve Sparks, former MLB pitcher, broadcaster * Jordan Tata, former MLB pitcher *

Ryan Tepera Dennis Ryan Tepera (born November 3, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, and Chicago White Sox. He attended Br ...

current MLB pitcher *

Don Welchel Donald Ray Welchel (born February 3, 1957) is a former right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Baltimore Orioles in 1982 and 1983. He is tall and weighs . Welchel grew up in Texas and attended Sam Houston State University. ...

, former MLB pitcher *

Phillip Wellman Phillip Lane Wellman (born December 5, 1961 in Marlin, Texas), is an American professional baseball coach and manager. He is the current manager of the El Paso Chihuahuas, Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball. Well ...

, U.S. baseball coach * Charlie Wilson, former U.S. politician * Dusty Wolfe, former professional wrestler, current history teacher *

William Garrett Wright William Garrett Wright is an American poet, editor, and writer. Raised in Edgefield, South Carolina, Wright has worked as an educator at institutions such as Emory University, Oxford College at Emory University, and The University of Tennessee. H ...

, poet

Notes

References

External links

*
Sam Houston State Athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, Sam Educational institutions established in 1879 Huntsville, Texas Education in Walker County, Texas Buildings and structures in Walker County, Texas Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Sam Houston

Sam Houston State University Sam Houston State University (SHSU or Sam) is a public university in Huntsville, Texas. It was founded in 1879 and is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools west of the Mississippi River and ...

1879 establishments in Texas