LeMoyne – Owen College LeMoyne – Owen College is a fully accredited , four - year private historically black college located in Memphis , Tennessee , affiliated with the United Church of Christ . It resulted from the 1968 merger of institutions who traced their history back to some of the earliest endeavors to educate former slaves in the 1860s . History . LeMoyne – Owen College was formed through the 1968 merger of LeMoyne College and Owen College , both private , historically black , church - affiliated colleges . LeMoyne Normal and Commercial School traces its history to 1862 when the American Missionary Association ( AMA ) sent Lucinda Humphrey to open an elementary school at Camp Shiloh for freedmen and escaped slaves . This was one of more than ten schools founded by the AMA , an integrated organization led by black and white Congregational and Presbyterian ministers . This was soon after the occupation of Memphis by Federal troops during the Civil War . First known as Lincoln Chapel , the school relocated to Memphis in 1863 . In 1866 it was destroyed during race riots that followed the withdrawal of federal troops . The school was rebuilt and in 1867 it reopened with 150 students and six teachers . In 1870 , Francis Julius LeMoyne ( 1798 - 1879 ) , a Washington , Pennsylvania doctor , donated $ 20 , 000 to the American Missionary Association to build an elementary and secondary school for prospective teachers . LeMoyne , who was a notable abolitionist , traveled from his Pennsylvania home to visit the new school . He donated a clock for the school ' s tower . The Memphis yellow fever epidemic started in 1873 and took a toll on many school personnel . Under the leadership of the third principal , Andrew J . Steele , the institution experienced three decades of growth and development . In 1914 the school moved from Orleans Street to its present site on Walker Avenue . Steele Hall , the first building on the new campus , was erected that same year . LeMoyne became a junior college in 1924 and then a four - year college in 1930 . The LeMoyne College was chartered by the State of Tennessee just four years later . Owen College traces its history as a junior college to 1947 , when the Tennessee Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention bought property on Vance Avenue . S . A . Owen Junior College opened at that location in 1954 . LOC Motto : Gubernatio . Oportunitas . Inclino . Motto in English : Leadership . Opportunity . Change . Athletics . The college sponsors athletic teams that participate in the Division II level , in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ( SIAC ) conference of the NCAA . The Lemoyne - Owen College Department of Athletics sponsors men ' s intercollegiate baseball , basketball , cross country , golf , and tennis along with women ' s intercollegiate softball , basketball , cross country , volleyball and tennis . The school ' s mascot is the Magicians . In 1975 , the Lemoyne - Owen College men ' s basketball team won the NCAA Men ' s Division III Basketball Championship . the school was then a member of Division III level of the NCAA . Up to this day , Lemoyne - Owen has been the only HBCU to win a national championship at that level . Recent debt and accreditation issues . According to a 2007 AP article , LeMoyne - Owen has suffered from management , debt and accreditation issues . Its accreditation has been in jeopardy , with Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placing it on probation for the last two years . In August 2007 , in a controversial move , the City of Memphis ensured the college would open for the fall 2007 semester by pledging $ 3 million in taxpayer funds to be added to other substantial pledges that came from the United Negro College Fund , Cummins Inc . , radio host Tom Joyner and the United Church of Christ .