Millikin University - Millidek Yearbook (Decatur, IL)

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MU grappler sets for the referee ' s whistle

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SPORTS Sports have been an integral part of Milli- kin life since the doors opened in the fall of 1903 . . . well, almost. Football, the pio- neer in M.U. Inter-Collegiate Athletics, of- ficially started the day after the school opened for the very first term. Dr. Charles A. Meserve, after complaining about a great lack of college spirit , was responsible for not only assembling the first football roster, but also the formation of the Athletic Association. During that same winter. Professor Bailey led a squad of young men through the rigors of basketball practice in what is now the sec- ond floor of the Mueller Industrial Labora- tory. Millikin had no floor to call its own until the Old Gym was constructed to mark the opening of the 1912 season. Track and baseball were implemented in the spring of 1904, and, like the basketball team, suffered due to a lack of proper facilities. Tennis was first played in 1906. Golf and swimming appeared on the sports horizon in 1926-27, but only in a very limited capacity. Golf became an M.U. standard in 1939, but swimming was dropped from 1933 until 1970-71, when the new pool in Griswold Center opened. Women started adding to the athletic tra- dition in May, 1917 by participating in the Millikin Women ' s Invitational tennis tour- nament (now called the Dorothy McClure Memorial Tournament). However, inter- collegiate competition and regularly scheduled events did not occur for wom- en until 1970. Basketball led the women ' s sports expan- sion in 1970-71, and volleyball and track followed in 1975-76. In 1982 Millikin added three more sports for women: cross coun- try, swimming and Softball. Big Blue women tip off against arch-rival Illinois Wesleyan Millikin shot putter fires towards record The Big Blue block another shot

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FINE ARTS Millikin offers one of the most spectacular University Concert Lively Arts Series of any educational institution of comparable size in the nation. The series has drawn such stars as Chuck Mangione, The Point- er Sisters, Cicely Tyson and Doc Severson to name but a few. M.U. also features faculty concerts, stu- dent recitals, theatrical productions, sev- eral university choral groups, bands, an orchestra, a marching band and flag corps and one of the top jazz bands in the Unit- ed States. Most of the fine arts productions are per- formed in the Kirkland Fine Arts Center, a modern 2000-seat theatre. Kirkland also sponsors art shows in its galleries. The art work can be student, faculty, or even the work of a noted professional. Millikin has much to offer in fi ne arts for both the performer and the viewer alike. Hansel mulls over bi- I — J Messiah soloist Violinist accompanies the Messiah choir 2 This Is It