| University of Pikeville | |
| Former Name: | Pikeville Collegiate Institute (1889–1909) Pikeville College (1909–2011) |
| Image Upright: | 0.7 |
| Motto: | "The Leading University of Central Appalachia" |
| Type: | Private university |
| Religious Affiliation: | Presbyterian |
| Academic Affiliations: | Space-grant |
| Endowment: | $14.2 million[1] |
| Chancellor: | Paul E. Patton |
| President: | Burton Webb[2] |
| Students: | 2,366[3] |
| Undergrad: | 1,658 |
| Postgrad: | 708 |
| City: | Pikeville |
| State: | Kentucky |
| Country: | United States |
| Campus: | Remote Town[4] |
| Campus Size: | 500acres |
| Colors: | Orange and black |
| Mascot: | Pikey the Bear |
| Sports Nickname: | Bears & Lady Bears |
| Sporting Affiliations: | NAIA – Appalachian |
| Accreditation: | SACS |
| Free Label: | Newspaper |
| Free: | The Bear Facts |
The University of Pikeville (UPIKE) is a private university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Pikeville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1889 by the Presbyterian Church and is located on a 25acres campus on a hillside overlooking downtown Pikeville.
The university is home to the Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine, one of three medical schools in the state of Kentucky. The university confers associate, bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees through its six academic divisions and one medical college; enrollment was 2,366 students in fall 2016.
The university was founded in 1889 by the Presbyterian Church as the Pikeville Collegiate Institute. It operated on the primary, secondary and post-secondary levels, although its "college" offerings were not accredited and did not lead to a degree.[5] Under the leadership of James Franklin Record, who was president of the school from 1899 to 1932, the high school was accredited, opened a teacher training institute, and expanded to include a junior college.[6]
In 1909 the school was split into the Pikeville College Academy, which was a private school at the primary and secondary level, and Pikeville College, which was accredited as a junior college, offering the first two-years with an anticipation of students then transferring to another Presbyterian college for a degree. In 1955 the school became a degree granting four-year college in its own right, and in 1957 the academy closed.[5]
In 1997, the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine, now the University of Pikeville Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine, was established. This makes the college one of the smallest colleges in the United States to have a medical school.[5]
The purpose of the osteopathic medical school, while graduates are fully prepared to specialize in any medical field, is to train primary care physicians to fill the shortage of medical care in the rural section of Appalachia in which it is located. Student recruitment is focused almost exclusively on students with a rural Appalachian background. It is one of 29 osteopathic colleges in the country, and one of five in Appalachia.
On July 1, 2011, the school officially changed its name from "Pikeville College" to the "University of Pikeville".[7] Late in the same year, voices were raised in the Kentucky General Assembly in favor of converting the university into a state-supported school.[8] By the end of the following March, proponents abandoned their plans after deeming them politically impossible.[9]
The University of Pikeville is located on a 25acres hillside campus, overlooking Downtown Pikeville in Kentucky's Eastern Mountain Coal Fields region.[1]
The University of Pikeville award associate degrees, bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees.[11] The university's Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree is awarded in collaboration with the University of Pikeville Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Doctor of Optometry program began in 2016.
The Marvin Student Center housed the campus bookstore, lounge, gameroom, post office, Upward Bound Program, and ROTC/National Guard Offices until it was demolished during the fall semester of 2010. A new building for the medical school called the Coal Building was built in its place. The new $34 million educational facility was dedicated on September 15, 2012.[12]
UPIKE's men's and women's basketball teams play at the 5,700-seat Appalachian Wireless Arena adjacent to the campus in downtown Pikeville.[13] The Expo Center opened in 2005 and replaced the UPike Gym as the home of the men's and women's basketball teams, although the women's volleyball team still uses the gym. The facility has also hosted the Mid-South Conference basketball tournament.[14]
See main article: Pikeville Bears.
The Pikeville (UPike) athletic teams are called the Bears. The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) since the 2023–24 academic year.[15] The Bears previously competed in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC; now currently known as the River States Conference (RSC) since the 2016–17 school year) from 1958–59 to 1999–2000 and in the Mid-South Conference between 2000–2001 and 2022–23.[16]
UPike competes in 25 intercollegiate varsity sports: men's sports include baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field and volleyball; and co-ed sports include archery, cheerleading, dance and eSports.[17]
Pikeville athletics have won numerous conference championships and three national championships: two in women's bowling in 2004 and 2008 and a NAIA DI men's basketball championship in 2011.[18] [19]
| Name | Term begin | Term end | Notes | References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Blythe | 1889 | 1891 | [26] | |
| 2 | Katherine B. Vreeland | 1892 | 1894 | ||
| 3 | Tobias J. Kendrick | 1894 | 1895 | ||
| 4 | James H. Hammett | 1895 | 1898 | ||
| 5 | Thomas M. Cornelison | 1898 | 1899 | ||
| 6 | James Franklin Record | 1899 | 1911 | ||
| 7 | J.P. Whitehead | 1911 | 1915 | ||
| 8 | James Franklin Record | 1915 | 1932 | ||
| 9 | Frank D. McClelland | 1932 | 1937 | ||
| 10 | Harry M. Crooks | 1938 | 1940 | ||
| 11 | A.A. Page | 1940 | 1962 | ||
| 12 | Burnice H. Jarman | 1963 | 1965 | ||
| 13 | Thomas H. Johns | 1967 | 1969 | ||
| 14 | Robert S. Cope | 1969 | 1974 | ||
| 15 | Jackson O. Hall | 1975 | 1985 | ||
| 16 | William H. Owens | 1985 | 1997 | ||
| 17 | Harold H. Smith | 1997 | 2009 | ||
| 18 | Micheal M. Looney | 2009 | 2009 | ||
| 19 | Paul E. Patton | 2009 | 2013 | Governor of Kentucky from 1995 to 2003. Current university chancellor. | [27] |
| 20 | James L. Hurley | 2013 | 2015 | ||
| 21 | Burton Webb | 2016 |
See main article: List of Pikeville Bears head football coaches.