Women’s athletics at Alfred University has a long and interesting history. Long before Title IX mandated athletic opportunities for females, Alfred University encouraged, and sometimes mandated, participation by its women students in some sort of physical activity. The early college catalogs say that women were required to exercise daily! Before varsity sports for women were added in 1974, the Women’s Athletic Association oversaw the athletic program for women. A point system was developed and women worked toward earning various bracelet/necklace charms or earning one of the coveted white blazers (only 5 were given out in any one year). While certainly not as much attention was paid to women’s sports as to the men’s, at least Alfred University women had opportunities for athletic competition in a variety of ways.
ts. In 1889 the Celadon Terra Cotta Company was organized by a small group of Alfred entrepreneurs to manufacture bricks and roofing tile (see examples in the photo to right, uncovered during the recent construction of the McLane Annex).
The plant was completely destroyed by fire on the morning of August 26, 1909, except for the small office building which stood separately along North Main Street (and now sits at the intersection by the traffic light). While the tile factory was not rebuilt after the fire, many of its products can still be seen in town on various roof tops and on the exterior of the “Terra Cotta” building.