Campus Features and Ornaments

Tier I: Harding Road Level
Tier II: Upper Campus, Front
Tier III: Courtyard at rear of Massey Commons
Tier IV: Front Campus Green
Tier V: John E. Sloan Quadrangle
Centennial Gate, Howard Allen, 1908-1977
Heritage of MBA Football, 1899-1998
Tommy Owen, 1924-1993

Heritage of MBA Football, 1899-1998
A characteristic of most MBA football teams is that they play competitively and fair, are disciplined, as well as well-coached and usually win (552-290-44). The performances of MBA's students on the football field mirror their actions in the classroom in that the school has consistently produced individuals who are foremost gentlemen, scholars, and athletes in that order.

For the first 16 years of football, MBA frequently struggled, achieving a record of 24-51-7. Early opponents included Wallace, Bowen, Fogg High School, BGA, CMA, and Vanderbilt Training School of Elkton, Kentucky. MBA coaches were often recently-graduated football stars from the University of Nashville or Vanderbilt. They normally coached at MBA for only a year or two. Before 1914, games were played at the an athletic field on the Peabody campus and at Sulphur Dell. That year a multi-purpose athletic field was built on the Harding Road campus.

MBA's first state championship came in 1915 when Coach Allen Brown's eleven had a 7-0-1 record. The next state prep school title occurred two years later when Coach Ammie Sikes' "Red and White" eleven was undefeated in six games. A third state championship came in 1925 during Coach W. H. Kirkpatrick's first year. "Kirk" stayed for three years, long enough to win three state championships and to achieve a record of 24-0-0. By scoring 566 points in 1925, the MBA football team scored an average of a point a minute and earned the title the "greatest prep school football team in local history".

Chile Hardin was MBA's next coach. His record was 25-22-2. One of Chile's quarterbacks, Howard Allen, succeeded him as coach in 1934, following Allen's graduation from Murray State Teachers College. After weathering a tough first year, Allen won successive Nashville Interscholastic League titles in 1937 and 1938, adding the Mid-State championship in 1948 and 1949. During Allen's 17-year tenure, MBA was known both as the "Maroons" (formerly the nickname of the University of Nashville) and as the "Big Red". His coaching record at MBA was 99-37-12. MBA's next legendary coach was Tommy Owen. His 34-year record at MBA of 251 wins, 98 losses, and 11 ties resulted in a winning percentage of 70%. Coach Owen's "Big Red" teams won state championships in 1955, 1967, and 1968.

MBA's coach from 1994-1998, Richard "Ricky" Bowers, proved to be one of the school's finest. His record from 1993 through 1997 included 41 wins and 10 losses, a winning percentage exceeded only by the undefeated teams of 1925-27. Other MBA coaches include Wayne Renegar (1951-1952), Ray Ridgeway (1971-75), and Floyd Elliott (1993).

A strong commitment to athletics, especially football, has given MBA much success in interscholastic competition. More importantly, the discipline, extracurricular expectations, and teamwork associated with sports have given young men at MBA a sport and sense of accomplishment to succeed in every endeavor.