Limestone College

Limestone College
Established	1845
Type	Private
President	Dr. Walt Griffin
Academic staff	75
Undergraduates	3,500
Location	Gaffney, South Carolina, United States
Campus	suburban
Mascot	Saints, St. Bernard (dog)
Website	www.limestone.edu

Limestone College is a private four-year, coeducational liberal-arts college located in Gaffney, South Carolina. Limestone College is a Christian non-denominational college. Its programs lead to the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Social Work, Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree.

Limestone was established in 1845 by Dr. Thomas Curtis and his son, Dr. William Curtis, distinguished scholars born and educated in England. Limestone was the first women's college in South Carolina, and one of the first in the nation. Ten buildings on the campus, as well as the Limestone Springs and Limestone Quarry itself, are on the National Register of Historic Places. In the 1960s, Limestone became fully coeducational, and today student enrollment is about 55:45 male:female. It is the third oldest college in South Carolina.

The college has expanded with branch campuses in Yemassee, SC; Greer, SC; Charleston, SC; Kingstree, SC; Graniteville, SC; Florence, SC; and Columbia, SC that offer evening classes.

Student body

Limestone enrolls approximately 825 traditional day students. However, its total student population of over 3500, including evening and distance learning students in its innovative Extended Campus program, makes it the largest private accredited institution in the state of South Carolina. The university primarily serves students from South Carolina and the Eastern seaboard, with an increasing number of students from all over the world in its day and Extended Campus programs.

Academics

81% of the faculty at Limestone hold the terminal degree in their field, and the student/faculty ratio is a very low 12:1. Limestone offers students 38 majors in four different divisions of study: Arts and Letters, Natural Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Professional Studies. An innovative and comprehensive Program for Alternative Learning Styles (PALS) serves a growing number of college age students with specific learning disabilities (LD) such as AD/HD, dyslexia, etc. in the day campus program.

As of 2008-2009, 56% of living alumni graduated from Extended Campus programs while the college itself has the largest undergraduate enrollment of any private accredited college in SC, at 3,273 (Fall 2009).

Athletics

Nickname: Saints

Colors: Blue and Gold

Affiliation: NCAA Division II

Conference Carolinas: Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball

Bluegrass Mountain Conference: Swimming

Independent: Field Hockey, Wrestling

Limestone plays sports in the 12-school Conference Carolinas, offering competitive opportunities at the NCAA Division II level for men in soccer, basketball, baseball, wrestling, lacrosse, golf, cross country, swimming, tennis, track and field, and volleyball and for women in golf, volleyball, basketball, softball, tennis, soccer, swimming, cross country, lacrosse, track and field, and field hockey. Limestone has an indoor Olympic-size pool for swim team and recreational use, along with a newly constructed (2005) campus Physical Education facility containing modern classrooms, offices, locker rooms, Athletic Training Education facilities for the school's fully accredited Athletic Training program, a state of the art fitness center, and a wrestling practice facility.

Until 1997, Limestone competed for championships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Limestone gained membership in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Division II in 1991 and began competing for NCAA championships when it joined the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference in 1998. Today, 17 of Limestone’s athletic teams compete in the Conference Carolinas, while both swimming teams are affiliated with the Bluegrass Mountain Conference and wrestling competes as an independent.

Limestone helped pave the way for collegiate lacrosse, swimming. and field hockey in the South. The Saints fielded South Carolina’s first collegiate lacrosse team in 1990. The swimming teams are the only NCAA Division II swimming programs in South Carolina and among the few in the two Carolinas. The Saints' field hockey program is southernmost field hockey team in the United States and the only collegiate squad in the state.

Over the years, the Saints baseball, men’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s lacrosse, softball, men’s soccer, and men’s and women’s tennis teams have all been ranked on the national level. Twelve student-athletes have gone on to play professionally in their sport, with seven of those signing professional baseball contracts. The Saints baseball program was started by two-time Cy Young Award winner Gaylord Perry, a member of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Additionally, Saints athletes have earned All-American honors on over 100 occasions and over a dozen have been named Academic All-Americans.

The Limestone men's soccer program is one of the fastest developing programs in college soccer. In 2001, against Southern Wesleyan University, a Limestone College soccer player set the NCAA record for the fastest goal in NCAA history, just under 5 seconds.

Limestone has been labeled a powerhouse in Men's Lacrosse and has won two National Championship titles (2000 & 2002). The Saints have also compiled eleven Conference Championship titles in (1994, 1999-2007, & 2009). With its 2000 national title, Limestone College became the smallest coeducational institution to ever win an NCAA National Championship.

The Women's Lacrosse program has made appearanes in six NCAA Division II National Tournaments (2004, 2006, & 2008-2011), reaching the NCAA DII National Championship in 2011. They have accumulated eight Conference Carolina's regular season championships (2004-2011), five conference tournament championships (2006, 2008-2011), and produced over twenty IWCLA All-Americans. Current Head Coach, Scott Tucker, was named NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Coach of the Year in 2006 and recently was an assistant coach to Team Canada in the Women's Lacrosse U-19 World Cup which was held in Germany in August 2011. The Lady Saints have an overall record of 148-59. They are the southern-most collegiate Women's Lacrosse program to make an appearance in a national tournament.

NAIA National Championships

• Men's Golf (1984)
• Men's Golf Individual Medalist (1984)

NCAA Division II National Championships

• Men’s Lacrosse (2000, 2002)
• Wrestling-184 lbs. Individual Title (2008)
• Men’s Swimming-200-yard Freestyle Relay (2008 & 2009)
• Men's Swimming-50-yard freestyle Individual Title (2009)

Regular Season Conference Championships (since 1998)

• Baseball (2005)
• Women’s Lacrosse (2004-2011)
• Men’s Lacrosse (2007-2011)
• Softball (2009-2011)
• Volleyball (2006)

Conference Tournament Titles

• Men’s Lacrosse (1994, 2000-2007, 2009-11)
• Women’s Lacrosse (2006, 2008-11)
• Men’s Soccer (2006)
• Women's Track & Field (2009)
• Men's Basketball (2011)

Clubs & Organizations

There are over twenty student clubs and organizations at Limestone College ranging in academics, religious, leadership, musical, theatre, and special interest affiliations. Students also contribute to The Calciid, the Limestone College yearbook, and The Candelabra, the student literary magazine of poems, essays, short stories, and art. LC also offers an ROTC program for students interested in serving in the military or reserves.

Notable alumni

• Gaylord Perry, Professional Baseball Player
• Bob Peeler, '74, former Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina
• Travis Gillespie, '02, Professional Lacrosse Player, Washington Stealth
• Kevin Pucetas, '06, Professional Baseball Player, Kansas City Royals
• Jay Byars '09, Supermodel, Reality TV Show contestant, Survivor: One World

External links

• Official Website
• Campus Map
• Official Athletics Website