Sul Ross State University

Sul Ross State University
Established	1917
Type	State university
Endowment	$9.7 million
President	Dr. Ricardo Maestas
Students	2047
Location	Alpine, Texas, USA
Campus	Rural, 647 acres
Colors	Scarlet and gray
Website	www.sulross.edu

Sul Ross State University (SRSU), a public university in Alpine, Texas, is named for former Texas governor, Civil War general Lawrence Sullivan Ross. It was founded in 1917 as Sul Ross Normal College and was made a university in 1969.

Sul Ross State University offers certificate programs and associate, bachelor's and master's degrees. The main campus is situated in the unique environment of the Big Bend region and is the primary institution of higher education serving a 19-county area in far West Texas. SRSU has branch campuses in Uvalde, Del Rio, and Eagle Pass (see below).

The university is governed by the Board of Regents of the Texas State University System, which guides seven universities in the state.

Academic statistics

• Average Undergraduate Class Size: 20
• Student to Faculty Ratio: 16:1
• Undergraduate Degree Programs: 41
• Graduate Degree Programs: 27

Facilities and projects of interest

• Archives of the Big Bend
• Borderlands Research Institute for Natural Resource Management
• Center for Big Bend Studies
• Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute
• Chihuahuan Desert Resource, Conservation, and Development Area, Inc.
• Museum of the Big Bend
• Minority and Small Business Development Center
• Bryan Wildenthal Memorial Library
• Arts in West Texas
• Rio Grande Heritage Tourism Project
• Rio Grande Research Center
• Sul Ross State University Alumni Association
• Theatre of the Big Bend
• Jim V. Richerson Invertebrate Collection
• A. Michael Powell Herbarium
• Richard Scuddy Vertebrate Collection

University memberships

• American Association of State Colleges and Universities
• American Library Association
• Association of Texas Graduate Schools
• Conference of Southern Graduate Schools
• Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
• National Association of Foreign Student Affairs
• The Texas Library Association
• National Collegiate Athletic Association
• Texas Interscholastic Athletic Association

History

The university is named in honor of Lawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross, the son of a pioneer Texas family who went on to become a Texas Ranger, a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War, the 19th Governor of Texas (USA), and a president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, now called Texas A&M University.

The now Lubbock-based West Texas Historical Association has on occasion held its annual meeting at Sul Ross.

Athletics

The school athletic teams are called the Lobos. They compete in the NCAA's Division III.

Sul Ross State University's Department of Athletics sponsors Men's Intercollegiate Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Tennis and Track along with Women's Intercollegiate Softball, Cross Country, Tennis, Track and Volleyball.

In 1970 and 1971, the women's volleyball team won the first two intercollegiate women's volleyball national championships ever held, conducted by the forerunner of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. Sul Ross State defeated UCLA and Long Beach State, respectively, in the championship matches.

In 2007, it was announced that 59-year-old Mike Flynt would be joining the Sul Ross football team. He had played college football when he was originally enrolled in college and his athletic eligibility had not expired.[1].

Some notable SRSU athletes are: Matthew Barnett (baseball) Currently an algebra teacher at Baytown Junior School in Baytown, Texas.

Rio Grande College of Uvalde, Del Rio, and Eagle Pass

Sul Ross State University operates Rio Grande College on the campuses of Southwest Texas Junior College in Uvalde, Del Rio and Eagle Pass. Rio Grande College offers a limited number of both undergraduate and graduate programs.

Notable alumni

• Matthew Barnett
• Dan Blocker
• Drayton Boucher
• Sandra A. Gregory
• Norm Cash
• Tuff Hedeman
• Dusty Rhodes, aka Virgil Runnels, professional wrestler
• J.T. Rutherford

External links

• Sul Ross State University