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1925<\/strong> \u2013 Students are required to walk, do physical labor, or hike for a minimum of two hours per week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1926<\/strong> \u2013 Upon observing students playing ball, President A.D. Wenger notes that students need to work rather than play \u201cfor the preservation of health\u201d and for \u201cmoral effect,\u201d but the school lacks employment options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1926<\/strong> \u2013 The Exercise Hall is built on voluntary basis by faculty and students with a $500 loan from the board of trustees. It includes various exercise items such as climbing ropes, traveling rings, and horizontal bars. The wood-frame building would be demolished by a 1930 summer \u201ctwister.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1929-30<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Students form an after-school league of three teams: Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1930<\/strong> \u2013 A new exercise hall of red concrete block is completed by November 1930 at a cost of about $1,500, and has six basketball hoops and other exercise equipment. The building was not heated and was nicknamed X-Hall (and then, in 1945, Kuhl Hall, by student Byard \u201cDoc\u201d Deputy).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1940<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 A student handbook note reads, \u201cOne period of supervised exercise required per week for all students except day students. Three hours of exercise required of all dormitory students. Exercise must be taken in at least 30-minute periods.\u201d Cleaning one\u2019s room or walking to town was not to be recorded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1942<\/strong> \u2013 A student handbook note reads, \u201cBoys must not attend basketball played by girls. The girls may attend boys\u2019 basketball games only when announced for Friday afternoons and evenings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1947<\/strong> \u2013 President J.L. Stauffer announces to the faculty that \u201csome of the boys had played basketball with the Publishing House team.\u201d Both EMC and Scottdale (Pa.) authorities express disapproval of this break of the purely intramural practices. As a sign of its increasing presence in campus life, however, The SHEN devotes five full pages to intermural athletics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1950s<\/strong> \u2013 Later in the decade, several groups travel to Goshen College and to Messiah College, which seems to have been tolerated by school officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1956<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 A team from Lancaster County challenges the Literary All Stars in a spirited \u201cCollege vs. the World\u201d basketball game in the standing-room-only Kuhl Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1958<\/strong> \u2013 <\/strong>The new gym, built at a cost of $255,000, is dedicated on April 26. The court is regulation size, and the student center houses a bookstore, post office, snack shop, classrooms, and facilities for a wide variety of games and activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1959<\/strong> \u2013 Health and Recreation Committee minutes state, \u201cIn as much as the problem of extramural games has been recurring, we recommend to the Administration Committee that a specified number of home games be permitted with church-related groups each year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1961<\/strong> \u2013 Administration issues a statement of policy regarding extramural games dubbed the \u201c10 Commandments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1962<\/strong> \u2013 The first sanctioned varsity team, a group of \u201cLiterary Ball\u201d stars nicknamed the \u201cShen Men,\u201d trounces Messiah College and Madison College before losing a close game to Goshen College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1964<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 The SHEN pictures the EMC Courtiers basketball team and action shots from track and field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1964<\/strong> \u2013 Men\u2019s soccer begins with a 2-0 season. In the SHEN of the following year, a soccer team photo appears for the first time, showing 18 players, including five men from African and Middle Eastern countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1965<\/strong> \u2013 The men\u2019s basketball team plays Madison College twice, winning 84-46 the first time and 87-60 the second. EMC also beats Messiah 98-73 and Washington & Lee 87-60.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1966<\/strong> \u2013 EMC fields a women\u2019s basketball team in the school\u2019s first intercollegiate competition for women. The team, coached by Miriam Mumaw, went 0-5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1966<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Men\u2019s basketball travels Kings College (New York) for their annual sports tournament and wins second place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1966<\/strong> \u2013 The SHEN devotes 14 pages to athletics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1966<\/strong> \u2013 The SHEN says that although \u201cfield hockey is not an academic offering, girls lit teams took it from there when field hockey was placed under sports trophy competition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1967<\/strong> \u2013 Track and field photos in the SHEN show participation by women and men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1967<\/strong> \u2013 Wrestling begins and continues through 1978.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1967<\/strong> \u2013 EMC joins the Virginia Soccer Conference, and cross-country becomes a varsity sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1967<\/strong> \u2013 The women\u2019s basketball team, coached by Miriam Mumaw, defeats Madison College twice, 36-31 and 46-42 and finishes with a 4-2 season record. The SHEN titles pages devoted to the men\u2019s team, with a record of 3-10, \u201cA Season of Mediocrity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1967<\/strong> \u2013 Men\u2019s tennis begins and runs until 1981, then again from 1996-2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1967<\/strong> \u2013 Expanding varsity schedules leave fewer students opting to play \u201cliterary ball,\u201d and class teams replace literary teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1968<\/strong> \u2013 A new cinder track provides a better running surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1968<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 The cross country team, coached by Roland Landes, posts an 18-0 record and wins EMC\u2019s first varsity championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1969<\/strong> \u2013 The baseball team plays a six-game season (18 games are played the next year). EMC beats the Madison College men\u2019s basketball team<\/a> 58-57.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1970<\/strong> \u2013 The \u201cCourtiers\u201d become the \u201cRoyals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1970<\/strong> \u2013 Women\u2019s basketball changes from a six-player to five-player format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1971<\/strong> \u2013 Field hockey becomes a varsity sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1971<\/strong> \u2013 The first women\u2019s volleyball team is coached by Miriam Mumaw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1971<\/strong> \u2013 Bill Russell, Boston Celtics Hall of Famer, addresses a crowd in Lehman Auditorium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1972<\/strong> \u2013 Title IX Act mandates equal funding for women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1973<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Bruce Tutt sinks two free throws for a 72-71 win on Jan. 20 over James Madison College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1973<\/strong> \u2013 Women\u2019s volleyball defeats local rival Madison College to win the state championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1973<\/strong> \u2013 EMC beats Madison College<\/a> in men\u2019s basketball on Jan. 20, 1973, with a score of 72-71 at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1973-74<\/strong> \u2013 Many athletes play multiple sports: Athlete of the Year Curtis Berkey letters in soccer, basketball, and tennis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1974<\/strong> \u2013 Men\u2019s cross country captures the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) championship. They will finish second in 1975, and win both ODAC and NCCAA championships in 1976.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1975<\/strong> \u2013 The Oakwood\/Birchwood flag football team wins the \u201cToilet Bowl,\u201d one of the many coveted results in vigorous intramural competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1976<\/strong> \u2013 EMC is one of the founding members of Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1976-77<\/strong> \u2013 In a Royals field hockey first, Jo Branner and Karen Yoder are selected for the national tournament in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1978<\/strong> \u2013 EMC sponsors a women\u2019s cross country team \u2014 with a single member, Faith Eidse<\/a>. She placed first at all dual and tri- meets, and 12th in the state meet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1978<\/strong> \u2013 The Loyal Royals become an official arm of the Alumni Association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1978<\/strong> \u2013 With falling participation numbers, the wrestling program disbands after the 1978 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1978<\/strong> \u2013 Cross country wins the ODAC and NCCAA championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1979<\/strong> \u2013 Kenny Layman<\/a> comes in fourth nationally in the 5000 meters and is NCAA All American and Ind. Champ, ODAC Runner of the Year, and Virginia State Champ. He was also ODAC Runner of the Year in 1976 and 1977, NCCAA Ind. Champ twice in 1977, and ODAC Women\u2019s Coach of the Year in 1987.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1980<\/strong> \u2013 Softball<\/a> begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1980 \u2013<\/strong> The field hockey team<\/a> is the first EMC team to qualify for a national tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1982<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Old Dominion Athletic Conference adds women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1982<\/strong> \u2013 Women\u2019s volleyball is undefeated<\/a> in ODAC play; they will accomplish this feat again in 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987 and 1994. The year also kicks off a six-year dominance in which EMC volleyball wins six consecutive ODAC Championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1985<\/strong> \u2013 Sandy Brownscombe, professor in the physical education department, leads the Royals to the women\u2019s basketball ODAC title and is named ODAC women\u2019s basketball coach of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1987<\/strong> \u2013 Larry Sheets \u201883<\/strong> is MVP for the Baltimore Orioles. Drafted out of R.E. Lee High School into professional baseball in 1978, he attended EMU in the off-season and played on the basketball team while earning a degree in physical education. In 1983, he was an assistant coach under baseball head coach Roland Landes. His last season in the MLB was 1989.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1987<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Just five years after women\u2019s sports entered the ODAC, three Royals fall sports teams set a never-matched record: field hockey, volleyball and cross country teams go unbeaten in regular-season play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1989 <\/strong>\u2013 Turf field completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1990<\/strong> \u2013 The baseball team beats cross-town rival Bridgewater College 7-6 for the first time. They lose two other games to the Eagles by one run, a vast improvement over their 33-0 drubbing of 1988. Read more about this era in a profile of Daryl Lambert \u201992<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1990<\/strong> \u2013 Sandy Brownscombe<\/a> becomes the first coach of the men\u2019s volleyball team. She is likely the first woman to coach a men\u2019s intercollegiate volleyball team in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1991<\/strong> \u2013 The outdoor track facility is completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1991<\/strong> \u2013 The baseball field is completed. Prior to this, teams competed at Harrisonburg High School\u2019s stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1995<\/strong> \u2013 Field hockey finishes third in the NCAA Final Four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1996<\/strong> \u2013 The men\u2019s tennis program is restarted after a 15-year hiatus and runs until 2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1998<\/strong> \u2013 Sandy Brownscombe guides the men\u2019s volleyball team to the Molten Division III Final Four Championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1998<\/strong> \u2013 Men\u2019s soccer team advances to the Sweet Sixteen<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1998<\/strong> \u2013 Women\u2019s tennis program starts. It will continue through 2005.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1999<\/strong> \u2013 Women\u2019s soccer program begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2000<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 University Commons completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2000<\/strong> \u2013 Laura Rosenberger<\/a> wins the NCAA title in the pole vault. She will win two more national outdoor titles and one indoor title,while dominating ODAC indoor and outdoor championships. She does compete her senior year to prepare for medical school, then resumes training after graduation for the Olympic Trials. Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2001<\/strong> \u2013 Women\u2019s cross country wins the ODAC Championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2001<\/strong> \u2013 Women\u2019s soccer\u2019s best overall season record<\/a> is 15-4 (.789).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2002<\/strong> \u2013 Catcher Erik Kratz<\/a> ends a record-setting career at EMU, catching every pitch of every game and becoming ODAC Player of the Year for the second season. His 77 career doubles still stands as an NCAA Division III record. He is drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 29th round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2008<\/strong> \u2013 The turf field upgrade is completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2009<\/strong> \u2013 Alyssa Derstine is field hockey\u2019s most decorated athlete. She is an All-American Second Team selection, a Division III Senior All-Star (selected by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association), and a two-time ODAC Player of the Year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2009-10<\/strong> \u2013 Men\u2019s basketball notches 25 wins<\/a>, winning national recognition in polls and advancing to a berth in the NCAA Division III Sweet 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2010<\/strong> \u2013 The softball team, seeded eighth, defeats Virginia Wesleyan 5-1 to win the ODAC Championship and advance to the Division III National Championship for the first time in school history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2015<\/strong> \u2013 EMU puts an all-time high 103 athletes on the Old Dominion Athletic Conference All-Academic Team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2015<\/strong> \u2013 Basketball player Jess Rheinheimer wins the Jostens Award, the second junior ever to win the national award based on excellence on the court, in the classroom and in the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2016<\/strong> \u2013 Men\u2019s and women\u2019s golf begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2016<\/strong> \u2013 Senior Jess Rheinheimer is Academic All-American of the Year. She also is the first woman to ever win both the ODAC Player of the Year<\/a> and Scholar-Athlete awards twice, among other honors. She helped the Royals to some of the best seasons in program history, including a run of three straight NCAA National Tournament appearances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2016<\/strong> \u2013 Deana Moren Baker \u201986<\/strong>, All-ODAC and All-American player, is inducted <\/a>into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2016<\/strong> \u2013 Senior Hannah Chappell-Dick is a finalist for the NCAA Woman of the Year award<\/a>. The cross country and track athlete is a five-time All-American and six-time ODAC\/Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Scholar-Athlete, among other honors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/07\/07161550\/football-300x215-1.jpg\")
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