1950

The 1950s was a decade of continual growth for ETBC. In 1955 Sanderson Hall of Science was opened to the north of Marshall Hall, and one year later Harvey Daniel Bruce Hall went up beside Sanderson. Bruce Hall was the home of the library, presidential suite, and several administrative offices. A new dormitory, Feagin Hall, was completed in 1950. Students and athletes were especially happy to see a new gymnasium rise up on the west side of campus. Named after ETBC Board of Trustees president, Warren Keys, the gymnasium opened in November 1959. As the student body increased after World War II, so did the faculty.  Along with expansion, faculty credentials were upgraded, in part to achieve accreditation for ETBC. By the end of the 1950s almost every faculty member held a master’s degree, several others were doing doctoral work, and ten held earned doctorates.

 In 1953 ETBC joined the Texas Association of Colleges and Universities, an accrediting agency, and was, in 1958, finally granted full accreditation. Having disbanded much of its athletic program in the 1930s and 40s, ETBC attempted to resurrect its football programs without success. Basketball, on the other hand, was so successful that the old frame gym was expanded to provide more seating. Under the leadership of Coach John O. Stephens, the 1950-51 Tigers won an invitation to the NAIB Tournament in Kansas City, the first appearance in a national tourney in college history. Beginning in the 1948-49 season, the Tigers rang up ten consecutive winning seasons.