Brigham Young College
Logan, Utah
1877-1926
E-Travel
Utah State University has the photo collection for Brigham Young College. Some images are online; others are available for order. The University of Illinois placed digital copies of BYC Catalogues on Internet Archive; some from the 1890’s can also be found on HathiTrust.
History
Brigham Young College was founded by Brigham Young, who endowed 9,142 acres for the support of the school. He envisioned a school which emphasized “practical” education in addition to training in the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. Classes were held in various locations around Logan until 1884 when the first permanent building was completed.
In 1895 the total enrollment was 291. Of these 8 were college students, 107 were Normal students, and 35 were Business students. Many were high school students; but 46 were in a special Mutual Improvement Association (MIA) program of the church. The 1924 catalogue shows that college students could choose between a normal and a general course of study. High school students could choose among normal, general, business, pre-engineering or domestic science programs. The school claimed 967 students. Of these 114 were regular college students, 331 were senior high school students, 215 more were in special programs, and more than 607 were training school students in grades one through nine.
The 1902 BYC Brass Band. (Catalogue, <archive.org/stream/cataloguewith0206brig#page/n166/mode/1up) accessed 11-6-2017
For its first fifteen years (1877-94) Brigham Young College was primarily a normal school, emphasizing a three-year elementary teaching certificate. From 1894 through 1909 BYC was licensed to award four-year Bachelor’s degrees. However in 1910, the school reverted to a combination high school and junior college.
Male students on campus had the Webster Literary and Debating Society and the Athenaeum Society as vehicles for fostering debating skills. Female students could be members of either the Crimson Club or the Pierian Club. Female students could also join Kappa Nu, a society more social in nature. There were two student publications—the yearbook and the newspaper. Students in music and drama departments performed an opera and two or more dramatic events each year. The faculty sponsored a “reasonable number” of dancing parties each year.
In May 1926 the church determined to close the school to concentrate on its Provo Campus.
Bricks and Mortar
Even after the four-story East Hall was built in 1884, the second floor of the Tithing Office Building, the Thatcher Opera House and Woodruff School were essential college buildings. A second building—called West Hall—was finished in 1898. The Mechanic Arts Building came in 1906; Nibley Hall, containing the auditorium, was added in 1908.
When the Mormons closed the Brigham Young College campus, the library was awarded to Utah Agricultural College. The campus buildings and land were awarded to Logan for use as a high school. Sometime during the 1960’s the buildings were demolished to make way for the construction of a new high school.
Brigham Young College campus in 1899. East Hall is to the left with the President’s House to its right. The newly completed West Hall is at the top. (Catalogue,
<archive.org/stream/cataloguewith0206brig#page/n147/mode/2up) accessed 11-6-2017
Sports
Team Name: Crimson
Colors: Crimson
From time to time Brigham Young College fielded football, basketball, baseball and track teams in the state league in Utah, competing against the University, the Agricultural College, the LDS College, and BYU. The Crimson team won the basketball championship in 1908. In 1905 BYC attempted to introduce soccer as a collegiate sport among Mormon schools, which had been forbidden to play regular football.
Overall, BYC had difficulty in finding a comfortable level of competition. Part high school and part two-year school with a small enrollment, BYC was rejected by high schools and was too small to be competitive with other Utah colleges. In the 1920's they were part of a league of two year schools: Westminster, Snow, Weber, and Ricks.
The 1924 football team compiled a 2-4-1 record. The Crimson defeated Westminster and Snow, and drew with Ricks. Losses came against Intermountain Union (MT), Idaho Tech, Weber (UT), and the Utah Freshman team.
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