From its founding in 1891 as the State Normal and Industrial School, the school now known as UNCG emphasized physical activity and personal health. Curriculum in the first year of the school’s existence (1892-1893) included the Department of Physiology and Heath, which had two objectives: instruction in hygiene and an… Continue reading…
In 1965, Frank Pleasants was hired to develop both intramural and intercollegiate athletic programs for UNCG in an effort to help transition the university into a co-educational institution. One of the first programs to emerge was an intercollegiate men’s soccer team in 1970. During the 1980s and the 1990s, the… Continue reading…
Intercollegiate women’s softball began competition at UNC Greensboro in 1976. The 1976 Pine Needles yearbook notes, “softball was a first for the Spartans this year, and the team did excepionally well. They were very tough competitors and they fought like champs.” The team competed as part of the North Carolina Association… Continue reading…
Beginning in 1990, UNCG began playing baseball as an official intercollegiate sport. The team claimed the Big South title in 1994 and 1997, earned a bid to the NCAA South I regional in 1997, and in 2006 earned its first win over a top ranked team, defeating the University of… Continue reading…
Michael Parker was the head coach of the UNCG’s men’s soccer team from 1984 to 2010. Originally from Bradford, England, Parker earned his Bachelors of Science at Madeley College in Staffordshire, England in 1968 and a Masters of Education degree from UNC Chapel Hill in 1971. Within two years of… Continue reading…
Irwin “Ike” Belk is the retired former CEO of the Belk Department Store chain, which was founded by his father, William Henry Belk, in 1888. Under his leadership, Belk Inc. became the largest, privately owned department store chain in the United States. In addition to his corporate work, Belk was… Continue reading…
The Spartan Club is a non-profit organization which endeavors to secure the financial support for UNCG student-athletes. Throughout the year, the Spartan Club, and each of the Spartan varsity teams host special events and hospitality gatherings to promote interest in the athletic programs at UNCG. The primary focus of the… Continue reading…
Starting in the 1970s, the Office of Campus Recreation began sponsoring intramural and club sports at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), as well as more informal recreation opportunities and events for students and faculty. One of the earliest events was the Student-Faculty “Scotch” Golf Foursomes, which ran… Continue reading…
Rugby first came to the University in 1977 with the establishment of the Men’s Rugby Club. The Women’s Rugby Club was founded in 2002. The UNCG Men’s and Women’s Rugby Clubs are University sponsored and student led sports clubs.
Basketball was one of the first sports played at the school now known as UNCG. The university, however, did not admit degree-seeking undergraduate male students until Fall 1964, but men’s basketball was played on campus in 1932. President Julius Foust decided that year to allow young men from the Greensboro area to enroll… Continue reading…
