By Haylee Key
Cameron University has a rich history dating back to 1908 when their doors first opened.
Cameron began as a junior college, offering high school classes as well as their college classes.
Cameron was a school of agriculture, which is where its student body gets its nickname, the Aggies.
Cameron began its first sports program in 1909 with men’s basketball and men’s track. Cameron soon began offering more sports including: football, golf, tennis, softball, cross country, riflery, boxing and more.
From 1930-1950 Cameron was considered a national boxing power in AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) and golden gloves. At the time, people were able to box in Cameron colors without being Cameron students.
Cameron was also well known for their football team. Cameron won 5 national championships in football in the years: 1931, 1941, 1960, 1961, and 1987. Although football was bringing championships home, Cameron dropped the football program on Dec. 11, 1992.
In 1958, Cameron won the first ever national championship world series for junior college baseball. This was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame in 2021, a proud moment for Cameron’s athletic director, Jim Jackson.
These were not the only national championships won by Cameron however. Cameron also won national championships in 1961 for riflery, 1980 for basketball and 1983 for golf.
Cameron opened the door to its infamous aggie gym in 1956. Cameron has the only pier and beam floor in the Lonestar conference. The construction of the flooring at Cameron gives Cameron a homecourt advantage. This type of flooring allows the players to jump higher and move easier due to the give in the floor.
“The players love it” Jackson said. “That’s why people love to come here.”
Cameron also has walls directly behind their goals which allows for better depth perception while shooting.
Cameron’s colors have had a history of their own. Cameron has changed their color four times before finally staying with the black and gold we know today.
In 1927 the aggies changed their name to the cowboys and changed their colors to orange and black. Four years later Cameron changed back to the Aggies with their black and gold colors. In 1967 Cameron tried for change again, and changed their colors to red and white. This caused an uproar, so three years later in 1970, Cameron changed back, yet again, to black and gold.
Today, Cameron is a part of the Lonestar conference and NCAA. Cameron welcomes new coaches, athletes and procedures. Cameron began its own Hall of Fame in 2007 with several inductions since. For Jackson, putting this together was an educational journey.
“I learned about them and that was kind of the beauty of it, was you learn the history of Cameron athletics” Jackson said.
Cameron has also won several regional championships as recent as 2022. Cameron continues its strong sportsmanship and traditions.
Cameron’s legacy is far from over, and we look forward to seeing what the future hold for the Cameron Aggies.