The founders of the Junior College first met on June 29, 1933. They were Eric T. Kelly, C.N. Caldwell, A.J. Dooner, Margaret D. Peterson, J. Arthur Phelps, Hattie A. Mead, and Frank S. Hoag, Jr. At first known as Southern Colorado Junior College, the title Pueblo Junior College was adopted. Legislation was passed in 1961 for it to become the four-year Southern Colorado State College with a junior class enrolled in 1963. By 1964, enrollment was more than 4,000 and a new campus was started in the Belmont area of the NE quadrant of town. The new campus was dedicated primarily to academic pursuits while on Orman Avenue, more of a combination of vocational courses with some academics were offered. (SCSC became the University of Southern Colorado in 1975.) The campus across town, now Pueblo Community College, has received endowments enabling antiquated buildings to be replaced and advanced technology programs to be inaugurated.
1933 – 1937
Southern Colorado Junior College
Southern Colorado Junior College provided two years of college instruction in the arts, literature, and science, adult education and vocational opportunities, and coursework to complete a high school program.
1937 – 1963
Pueblo Junior College
Taking advantage of the Junior College Act of the General Assembly, the Pueblo County Junior College District was formed, making the college part of the public school system supported by county-wide taxes. The name change to Pueblo Junior College brought with it a change in mission. The institution offered the first two years of general study at the college level, providing the educational foundation for students seeking to transfer to complete their higher education degrees at four-year colleges and universities, and continued to offer a range of practical courses for those not seeking a higher education degree.
1963
Southern Colorado State University
The 30th anniversary year saw the State enact legislation making the institution a four-year degree granting college and a member of the state system of higher education. The first juniors were enrolled in 1963, followed in 1964 by the first seniors and the first bachelor’s degrees awarded in 1965. The name change to Southern Colorado State College reflected recognition of the need for more advanced degrees and an increase in the number of students pursuing a four-year degree in the southeastern region of Colorado.
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University of Southern Colorado
Pueblo Junior College Athletic Highlights
1938: Under the direction of physical education instructor, Dr. Dale Rea, the intercollegiate athletics program begins at Pueblo Junior College. Rea, coaching both the football and basketball teams, leads the 1938 football team to a 1-3-2 record while the basketball team wins the conference championship in the newly-formed Empire Conference, also spearheaded by Rea.
1941: Following the United States’ entry into World War II, Dr. Rea takes a leave of absence to fight in the war. As a result of his and the departure of numerous male would-be athletes, the athletics program takes a hiatus from 1943-1945.
1945: Young high school basketball coach Harry Simmons is hired as the basketball coach and director of athletics. His NJCAA and NAIA Hall of Fame career would span 35 years until his retirement in 1980.
1946: The athletics program makes its first high-profile coaching hire, bringing in Kansas State University All-American and former Washington Redskins draftee, Maurice “Red” Elder, to coach the team. He would coach for six seasons and win 25 games, led by the 1948 team’s 7-1-1 season, which still stands as the fourth-best season in program history.
1949: For the first time, a Pueblo College athletic team qualifies for a national tournament, as Simmons’ basketball squad earns an invite to the NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan. However, a blizzard halted the team’s bus and forced it to forfeit its spot in the tourney. A Pueblo College team wouldn’t earn another invite to the national tournament for seven seasons.
1954: A Pueblo College alumnus gets an opportunity to play professionally for the first time as former Pueblo College pitcher and Pueblo native, Frank DeLeon, is signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and plays in the Dodgers’ farm system, starting with its Great Falls (Mont.) club. DeLeon would last two seasons in the farm system, making it as far as the Cedar Rapids Raiders, the Dodgers’ B-level affiliate (modern day AA) in 1955.
1956: For the first time, Pueblo College competes in the NJCAA Basketball National Tournament, finishing the 1955-56 season with a 24-7 record, finishing 6th in the nation. The team is led by Eugene Poston, who earns NJCAA Tournament Player of the Year honors despite playing for the sixth-place team.
1957: Pueblo College returns again to the NJCAA Tournament, this time finishing third. The Indians went 31-7, finishing one game away from the NJCAA Championship Game by losing to San Angelo (Texas) College.
1960: For the third time in five years, the Indians returned to the NJCAA Tournament, led by All-American Curt Jimerson, en route to a 28-5 season. The Indians would finish eighth, though several of the team’s members were primed to return the following year.
1961: It all came together for the Pueblo College basketball team in 1961 as the squad went 34-2, cruising to the NJCAA National Championship, the first – and only – national team title won in school history. The team boasted a stellar 34-2 record and a 9-1 mark in Empire Conference play, and consisted of such players as first-team all-American and regional tournament MVP Sam Smith, national tournament MVP and future NBA player, Bob Warlick, and all-region selections Norm Colglazier and Waymond Dean. And the icing on the cake, coach Harry Simmons was named NJCAA Coach of the Year.
1963: The 30th anniversary year saw the State of Colorado enact legislation making the institution a four-year degree granting college and a member of the state system of higher education. The first juniors were enrolled in 1963, followed in 1964 by the first seniors and the first bachelor’s degrees awarded in 1965. The name change to Southern Colorado State College reflected recognition of the need for more advanced degrees and an increase in the number of students pursuing a four-year degree in the southeastern region of Colorado.