The 1960s and ’70s have endured in the American psyche as decades of social and cultural upheaval. And Texas State University was not immune from the spirit of the times.
The era would bear witness to desegregation on campus as well as substantial growth, driven in part by the signing of the Higher Education Act in 1965. Even during these tumultuous times, Bobcats have always been driven to shape their own futures.
In the United States, the 1960s saw the expansion of the civil rights movement that bore definitive change across the nation, including at Texas State University.
“[TXST must] forthwith admit and enroll the said plaintiff, Dana Jean Smith, to said Southwest Texas State College, and to the utilization and participation in all of the education facilities...on the same basis as all others entitled thereto.”
– U.S. District Judge Benjamin Herbert Rice, court order
The decade began with just over 2,600 students enrolled at the university, and it was in 1963, nine years after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling outlawed segregation in schools, that Texas State would admit its first Black students. The “First Five,” as they would eventually come to be known, underwent a daunting but essential groundbreaking journey to desegregate the university — and it all began on February 4, 1963. On that date, a federal judge ruled in favor of Dana Jean Smith, requiring Texas State to open its doors to all. Mere hours after the legal decision, four of the First Five — Dana Jean Smith, Georgia Faye Hoodye Cheatham, Gloria Odoms, and Mabeleen Washington — were enrolled. Helen Jackson enrolled the next day.
“[To] me it wasn’t always a pleasure. But I did, so the ones coming after me could.”
– Helen Jackson Franks
Three years after the first Black students were admitted into Texas State, Johnny E. Brown was recruited as the university’s first Black student-athlete for the basketball team. While he had been sought out by several other colleges, he selected Texas State and remained the only Black basketball player until the 1968-1969 season, when he was joined by Perry Jackson.
Brown would go on to earn his bachelor of science in education and master of education degrees at Texas State and his doctorate in educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin.
1967 bore witness to another historical first for the university: Shirley Harris became Texas State’s first Black graduate. A transfer from San Antonio College, Harris was the first in her family to earn a college degree. After graduation, she would go on to work as an elementary school teacher in San Antonio for 42 years, retiring in 2011.
November 8, 1965, was a monumental occasion for Texas State University and for higher education throughout America.
“Here the seeds were planted from which grew my firm conviction that for the individual, education is the path to achievement and fulfillment; for the nation, it is a path to a society that is not only free but civilized; and for the world, it is the path to peace — for it is education that places reason over force.”
— Lyndon Baines Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson, a Texas State alum and the only U.S. president to graduate from a Texas university, arrived at his alma mater to sign the Higher Education Act. The Higher Education Act provided millions of young Americans with the opportunity to obtain a degree who would not otherwise have had the chance.
The Higher Education Act created a variety of financial offerings including grants, loans, and numerous programs that were intended to provide opportunities for lower- and middle-income families to obtain an education beyond secondary school. Alongside improving college outcomes for these demographics, the act also provided assistance for smaller colleges, improved library resources at collegiate institutions, and encouraged institutions of higher education to focus on national issues such as poverty and community development.
The Higher Education Act has been reauthorized nine times since: 1968, 1972, 1980, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2008, 2020, 2022.
In 1965, Vietnam antiwar protests began to escalate around the nation, especially across colleges and universities. In fact, student activism was one of the major factors that brought about greater awareness of the tragedies of the war to the broader public.
On November 13, 1969, Texas State would be the stage of one such protest.
On this day, approximately 75 students joined together near the Fighting Stallions to peacefully protest the Vietnam War. The Dean of Students warned the students that they had a limited amount of time to remove themselves from the scene under the threat of suspension. After three minutes had passed, only 10 students remained. This group would come to be known as the “San Marcos 10.”
The 10 remaining student protesters were immediately suspended.
In the aftermath of their suspension, it was reported that hundreds of Texas State students and faculty protested at the Administration Building in response to how the 10 had been treated.
While the San Marcos 10 would lose all of their credits for the 1969-1970 academic year and face legal blocks at every turn, their efforts would ultimately contribute to shaping the public opinion on the Vietnam War.
The socio-cultural changes of the era, coupled with real transformations on campus, led to plenty of additional growth at Texas State University. From 1964 to 1969, Texas State would undergo significant changes, including tremendous expansion and the reorganization of many offices, processes, and the university’s five colleges. There would also be a relaxation on free-speech restrictions on campus, which became even more crucial as enrollment more than doubled during this time frame, flourishing from 3,850 to 8,406.
The university acquired the former U.S. Federal Fish Hatchery lands in 1965. The hatchery was closing because of economic challenges, and U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered the 44-acre facility, including its 15 ponds, to be given to Texas State, fostering critical campus expansion. Because the ponds offered the ideal settings for education and research, the Department of Biology utilized the waters and hatchery building for learning opportunities. Today, J.C. Kellam and the Theatre Center stand on the former fish hatchery property.
The growth Texas State underwent throughout the era included advances in its academic offerings and the establishment of the Honors College. Founded in 1967, the General Honors Program would initially offer two courses and accept 36 of 55 applicants from all realms of academia, including liberal and fine arts, science, applied arts, and education. Today, the Honors College offers more than 200 courses to hundreds of students, as well as a minor in honors studies, and its graduates excel in advanced degree programs at renowned institutions around the world.
Nearly quadrupling in size from 1960, Texas State would see nearly 10,000 Bobcats enrolled at the start of 1970. The sizable growth spurt required a shift in academic offerings, and thus the School of Business Administration was established in 1970. Within 10 years, one in four students enrolled at Texas State University would be seeking a business degree.
Just as the university underwent expansion, so too did the needs of Texas. In response to a growing demand for essential healthcare professionals in the state, Texas State would develop the School of Allied Health Professions in 1972. Commencing with only one health professions program, inhalation therapy (now known as respiratory care), the college initially enrolled only 24 students. Now, more than 50 years later, the College of Health Professions boasts over 4,000 students enrolled in a diverse range of 18 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
In the twilight of the decade, the university once again underwent a name change to better match its growth and development, becoming Southwest Texas State University in 1969.
In 1979, Texas State purchased the former San Marcos Baptist Academy adjacent to campus. The acquisition of these 78.5 acres for $11.25 million was the largest addition to the San Marcos Campus since 1903, increasing its size by 50 percent. Additionally, the university’s enrollment had expanded to 15,924, while athletics had moved into NCAA Division II.
The first dance team ever organized at any four-year college campus in Texas, the world-renowned Texas State University Strutters, was founded by Mrs. Barbara Guinn Tidwell in 1960. The Strutters have since performed at two U.S. presidential inaugurations, participated in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, appeared on television and film, and even were selected to represent America’s Bicentennial in a commercial for Coca-Cola.
In 1961, Paul Yoder composed Texas State’s spirit fight song, “Go Bobcats.” A bold statement sung at all Texas State athletic games, the anthem remains a staple among students and fans.
"Go Bobcats all the way,
Keep that maroon and gold on high!
Fight on for every play
Until you hear that Bobcat battle cry!
We're gonna cheer for our team today
Until the whole world knows our name.
No doubt about it,
We're gonna shout it —
Bobcats will win this game!"
– “Go Bobcats”, the TXST fight song
In 1964, Texas State’s illustrious “Boko” was born. Beth Greenlees, who was a sophomore at the time, won the “Name the Bobcat” contest, earning a $5 prize and her name written down in the annals of Texas State.
The Soap Box Derby became a Homecoming tradition when it was added to the list of celebratory events in 1967. When the derby began, students were allowed to build their own homemade cars to race down the slopes surrounding the university.
In 1960, Coach Milton Jowers lead the men’s basketball team to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championship, the first ever national championship for Texas State athletics. Vernon McDonald would commemorate the victorious team in his book, “Playing for a Winner: Remembering Coach Milton Jowers.”
Though the first ever sport played by a Texas State team was a women’s basketball game in 1903, it wasn’t until after the enactment of Title IX that women’s sports began to receive the funding they so readily deserved.
The first teams created after the signing of Title IX at Texas State were basketball, gymnastics, swimming, tennis, track and field, and volleyball.
Before the ’70s were over, James (Jim) Herbert Wacker would come to serve as Texas State’s head football coach. Following his tenure as athletic director in the lates 1990s, and after his passing in 2003, the university would commemorate its football field at Bobcat Stadium as “Jim Wacker Field.”
Championship history for the ’60s and ’70s include:
With always a focus on tomorrow, Texas State University underwent unprecedented change during the 1960s and ’70s, both culturally and physically, changing into a comprehensive university with a diverse student body, robust academic offerings, and rich cultural heritage. This era laid the foundation for Texas State’s impact at the regional, state, and national level in the decades to come.
