Alderson Broaddus University
Alderson Broaddus University (AB) was a private Baptist university in Philippi, West Virginia. It was founded in 1871 and suspended its operations on August 31, 2023.[3]
Former names
Pre-merger:
Winchester Female Institute (1871-1876)
Broaddus Female College (1876-1885)
Broaddus College (1885-1894)
Broaddus Classic and Scientific Institute (1894–1918)
Broaddus College (1918–1932)
Alderson Academy (1901–1909)
Alderson Baptist Academy (1909-1918)
Alderson Academy and Junior College (1918-1925)
Alderson Junior College (1925-1932)[1]
Post-merger:
Alderson-Broaddus College (1932–2013)
"From the darkness into the light"
1871–2023
Andrea J. Bucklew
James M. Owston
47 Full-Time and 19 Part-Time[2]
767 (674 undergraduate)[2]
Rural
Navy and gold
Battlers
Skirmish
It was historically affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. It was formed in 1932 as Alderson-Broaddus College by the union of two Baptist institutions: Alderson Junior College (founded 1901) and Broaddus College (founded 1871). The school adopted its final name in 2013.
Prior to the university's closing, its academics were organized into five academic divisions: the College of Health, Science, Technology, and Math; the College of Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences; the College of Business; the College of Medical Science; and the College of Adult and Distance Education.
Alderson Broaddus was the first college in West Virginia to offer a four-year degree in nursing and the first in the country to offer a four-year physician assistant degree.
Athletics[edit]
For much of its existence, Alderson Broaddus's primary sport was men's soccer (led by Bob Gray from 1978-91). The athletic programme expanded dramatically under President Creehan from 2011, notably with the addition of American football.
Known as the "Battlers" (harkening back to the 1861 Battle of Philippi), Alderson Broaddus was a member of the Mountain East Conference (MEC) and NCAA Division II. The team's colors were Navy Blue, Gray and Gold, and its mascot was named Skirmish. At the time of its closure the university offered 20 sports, all at the Varsity level: Football (which became a full varsity program in 2013),[10] Acrobatics & Tumbling, Baseball, Football, Softball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Soccer, Men's and Women's Lacrosse, Men's and Women's Volleyball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Men's and Women's Track & Field, Men's and Women's Wrestling, Men's Sprint Football and Cheerleading.
AB and its predecessor institutions had been members of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) since that league's formation in 1924. The WVIAC disbanded at the end of the 2012–13 school year, after the nine WVIAC members that then played football announced they would break away to form a new league that eventually became the Mountain East Conference.
Shortly after the announcement of the Mountain East split, AB found a new conference home, accepting an invitation to join the G-MAC in the fall of 2013.[11] AB and three other West Virginia schools—former WVIAC members Davis & Elkins and Ohio Valley, plus independent Salem International—all entered the G-MAC.[11]
In 2012 AB started its football program, initially competing at the club level before moving up to Division 2 the following year. Alderson Broaddus originally competed as an independent football team without a conference. In 2016 the G-MAC conference decided to partially make football a competitive sport in the conference with the full competition to start in 2017.The Battlers first defeated Kentucky Wesleyan in the Founders Cup in 2015 to become the first ever G-MAC football Champion. The Battlers became the first G-MAC Conference football champions on 11/12/16 when they defeated Kentucky Wesleyan University 31–28. The G-MAC added another new team to the conference in 2017 of Malone University.
Alderson-Broaddus Baseball won the G-MAC conference title for the first time on May 14, 2016, over Trevecca Nazarene 9–6.
On June 9, 2020, Alderson Broaddus announced that they will leave the Great Midwest Athletic Conference and will join the Mountain East Conference.
With the revocation of the school's degree-granting status in July 2023, the university immediately ended all athletic activities.[12]