# Sul Ross State University

Sul Ross State University (SRSU) is a public university in Alpine, Texas, United States. The main campus is the primary institution of higher education serving the nineteen-county Big Bend region of far West Texas. Branch campuses, branded as Rio Grande College, are located in Del Rio, Uvalde, Eagle Pass, and Castroville.
Named for former Texas governor and Confederate general Lawrence Sullivan Ross, the institution was founded in 1917 as Sul Ross Normal College and was made a university in 1969. It is governed by the Board of Regents of the Texas State University System.

## History

On April 14, 1914, Governor James E. Ferguson signed the bill selecting Alpine as the site for a normal school.
It received state university status in 1969.

## Campus

This section needs to be created describing the overall campus, the Everett E. Turner Range Animal Science Center, athletic properties south of the Union Pacific Railroad, west of SH 223, the programs at the old Centennial School, and the university's research working ranch near Sierra Blanca.

## Academics and research
### Facilities and projects of interest

* Archives of the Big Bend
* Borderlands Research Institute for Natural Resource Management
* Center for Big Bend Studies
* Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute
* Chihuahuan Desert Resource, Conservation, and Development Area, Inc.
* Museum of the Big Bend
* Minority and Small Business Development Center
* Bryan Wildenthal Memorial Library
* Arts in West Texas
* Rio Grande Heritage Tourism Project
* Rio Grande Research Center
* Sul Ross State University Alumni Association
* Theatre of the Big Bend
* Jim V. Richerson Invertebrate Collection
* A. Michael Powell Herbarium
* James F. Scuddy Vertebrate Collection

### University memberships

* American Association of State Colleges and Universities
* American Library Association
* Association of Texas Graduate Schools
* Conference of Southern Graduate Schools
* Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
* National Association of Foreign Student Affairs
* The Texas Library Association
* National Collegiate Athletic Association
* Texas Interscholastic Athletic Association

## Student life
### Athletics

Sul Ross State athletic teams are called the Lobos. The university is a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the Lone Star Conference.
Sul Ross State competes in 12 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, soccer and tennis; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball.
In July 2023, Lobos athletic programs were approved for reclassification to Division II. On July 1, 2024, the university became a member of the Lone Star Conference.

### Student housing

Student housing is located at Lobo Village. Lobo Village 1 (LV1) and Lobo Village 2 (LV2) are the permanent resident halls for students.
Single students may live in the Lobo Village efficiency apartments in Lobo Village 3 and Lobo Village 4. To live in these apartments, students are required to be 21 or older. Family housing, for couples and students with dependent children, is located in Lobo Village 5, Lobo Village 6, and Lobo Village 7. Residents of the family housing are zoned to the Alpine Independent School District, and are zoned to Alpine Elementary School, Alpine Middle School, and Alpine High School.

## Rio Grande College

Sul Ross State University (SRSU) operates Rio Grande College (RGC) and SRSU distance learning centers on the campuses of Southwest Texas Junior College (SWTJC) in Uvalde, Del Rio, and Eagle Pass. Serving thirteen counties in Southwest Texas, RGC offers both undergraduate and graduate programs.

### Academic programs

Rio Grande College offers college junior, senior and graduate level coursework with programs in liberal arts, business and teacher education and certification at the elementary or secondary level.
Bachelor's degrees in a variety of fields including nursing, education, business, biology, criminal justice, English, Spanish, history, mathematics, psychology, social science as well as child development and organizational leadership are offered.
Master's degrees in English, history, public administration, business, education, criminal justice and health and human performance are also offered.

### History

RGC was renamed by the Texas Legislature as Sul Ross State University Rio Grande College in 1995, recognizing its service to the broad area of the Middle Rio Grande and Wintergarden regions of Texas. Originally known as the SRSU Study Center, the college had been renamed the SRSU Uvalde Study Center in 1985 and again the SRSU Uvalde Center in 1989.

### Cultural diversity

The student body is multicultural and consists of traditional and non-traditional students.

## Notable alumni

* Don Bingham, professional football player
* Dan Blocker, actor
* Norm Cash, professional baseball player
* Pete P. Gallego, former U.S. Representative for Texas's 23rd congressional district from 2013 to 2015, president of Sul Ross
* Sandra A. Gregory, United States Air Force Brigadier General
* Tuff Hedeman, professional bull rider
* Erasto B. Mpemba, Tanzanian wildlife officer and, as a schoolboy, discoverer of the Mpemba effect
* Lee Patton, Hall of Fame basketball coach at West Virginia University, former player at Sul Ross,
* Roberta Rudnick, geologist
* J.T. Rutherford, member, U.S. House
* Scotty Walden, college football coach
* Kern Wildenthal, hospital and university administrator