Histories & Mysteries
UMBC Magazine answers alumni questions about True Grit, secret campus tunnels, football, Hillcrest and more…
Even though UMBC is a fairly young university, it still has mysteries and legends and stories of its founding. Why does UMBC look the way it looks? Why is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever our mascot? Why don’t we have a football team? What was Hillcrest? And what about those tunnels under
the university?
YOU ASKED. WE ANSWERED.
- Why was the Hillcrest Building torn down? What was the history behind this structure? —Perry Alexander ’91
- The silo on UMBC Boulevard suggests a connection between the university and farming. What was that property before it became UMBC? —Mary Slicher ’73
- Does UMBC have secret underground tunnels? Why? —Bennett Moe ’88
- Is it true that you have to run around the Loop Road to get rid of the calories in one donut? I heard this when I was a freshman 20 years ago. —Renate Smith ’98
- What’s the real story behind True Grit? Why was a Chesapeake Bay retriever chosen as the school’s mascot? —Zozscha Bomhardt ’93
- Why were UMBC dormitories named after bodies of water? —Carla Jarvis ’91
- Who was the most famous performer or group to play a concert at UMBC? —Eric Messner ’01
- Why does UMBC not have a football team? Did the university ever consider having one? —Lisa Price ’87
- What was the first computer on campus? How did UMBC create a nationally-known reputation in the field? —Matt Basch ’08, M.S. ’10
- Who was the first student to register for classes at UMBC? How many students were in the first graduating class in 1970? —Felice Pinckney ’92
- Why was the Conservation and Environmental Research Area (CERA) and its trail created? – Delana Gregg’04, instructional systems development
- When did UMBC become a national college chess powerhouse? – Valerie Kilgallon ’87, English
- What is the oldest standing building on campus? – Sara Shannon ’05, social work
- How did it come to be that UMBC develop a class schedule with a “free hour” in the middle of the day? – Donna Lewis ’87, English
Posted: September 4, 2015, 6:11 PM