1960

The decade of the 1960s in America was turbulent and divisive, and a considerable amount of turbulence and divisiveness occurred on college campuses. At ETBC there were no sit-ins or demonstrations, and integration of the student body occurred without incident. The first African American to attend ETBC was Woody Cooper, a fine basketball player from Marshall, who enrolled as a freshman in 1965. Cooper would be a Tiger star for four seasons. Enrollment grew steadily, from 490 in 1961 to 782 by 1968. In 1967 women were finally allowed to wear pants on campus, and at the stroke of midnight on the designated day, Brenda Bumstead and Teresa Kearney bounded down the stairs of Linebery Hall and emerged into the lobby in their pants.

Student life centered around campus activities: basketball and baseball games; choir concerts; plays; the Homecoming Parade; the Court of Hearts; Western Day; Thanksgiving and Valentine banquets. The Music Department, noted for excellence almost since the opening of the college, achieved renown during the 1960s, climaxing at the end of the decade with a choir concert tour of Switzerland with a professional orchestra. In 1961 the Tiger Basketball team fought their way to another national tournament invitation, and continued to win conferences and tournament championships. A diamond was laid out north of Keys Gymnasium, and the baseball Tigers captured a conference crown in 1967.