A lot can change in one hundred years. In fact, the time between 1922 and now saw the Great Depression, a host of historical wars, a series of Civil Rights movements, prohibition, the first man in space, the introduction of antibiotic treatment and much, much more. One hundred years seems limitless.

While the world ebbed and flowed between breakthrough and breakdown, Centenary College saw changes in its history, too. Young men, who were enrolled at Centenary, left home to fight wars in unfamiliar places. All but three of the buildings we work and live in were built. Classes underwent integration. Women were offered the opportunity to play sports. 

The history of campus sports is not limited to the introduction of women’s athletics, however. Currently, our campus organizes twenty teams across men’s, women’s, and co-ed sports, seven of which have been added/returned to the roster within the last five years. Since 2019, Centenary has proudly supported a men’s club volleyball team, pioneered by recently graduated Daniel Hernandez. Cheer and dance were reintroduced in 2019, too, with first recruits Bri Callicoatte and Alaina Owens, respectively. In 2020, cross country and track and field were reintroduced after having simmered down nearly ten years ago. Although the Gent’s football team began in 1894 and discontinued after World War II, 2024 presents promise for a comeback. The team was remarkable then, and I look forward to the closing of a nearly eighty-year gap. 

Adding these programs contributed to the roster of longer-standing teams such as baseball, golf, soccer, and basketball. Gymnastics, the first female varsity sport, began in 1964 and has been a strong, award-winning program since. Lacrosse started as a club sport in 2001 and officially joined the Ladies and Gents in 2012. A women’s lacrosse team also existed briefly in the mid-2010s. Alissa Klaus, who graduated in 2015 and is now the director of the Meadows Museum, played for the Ladies Lacrosse team. Swim is a relatively new program having only been official for a couple of decades. Centenary, for a short period, had a triathlon team in 2016 and 2017. Unfortunately, the tennis program, established in the 70s, was terminated in 2019. Despite this abrupt end just a few years ago, I have heard rumors of a comeback.

After delving into Centenary’s archives, I found evidence of many sports that many of us probably did not know about. Fencing was introduced in 1966 and quickly gained a lot of traction. This traction did not last forever, and the team seems to have died out around 2005. A rifle team, originating in the 1930s, developed officially in the 80s, but, again, did not last forever. The sport coexisted with an ROTC program, too. Records indicated that ping pong, badminton, skating, hiking, horseback riding, bicycling, and archery teams were well rooted in the last one hundred years as well. Intramural sports, like ultimate frisbee, were fun ways to spend free time and largely declined because of COVID. 

Knowing what sports were once offered and for who provides a snapshot of what the athletic program looked like a century ago. Since then, many sports have been introduced and many sports have been lost. Let’s look onward to supporting the Ladies, Gents, and Catahoulas that perform on our courts, fields, gyms, and tracks to this day!

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