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 Sul Ross State International, are located in Del Rio, Uvalde, and Eagle Pass.

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.

Campus

The main campus is mostly in the Alpine city limits, though one section is in an unincorporated area.

The campus includes 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.

Organization and administration

Academics and research

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Facilities and projects of interest

thumb|View of Sul Ross State University

thumb|Lawrence Hall, Sul Ross State University

  • 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

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|+ style="font-size:90%" |Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2023

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| White

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| Black

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| Two or more races

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| American Indian/Alaska Native

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| Unknown

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! colspan="4" data-sort-type=number |Economic diversity

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| Low-income

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| Affluent

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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.

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.

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, star 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

Notes

References

  • Athletics website