Spartanburg Methodist College

Former names	Textile Industrial Institute (1911-1942) Spartanburg Junior College (1942-1974)
Motto	Deus Providet (Latin)
Motto in English	"God provides"
Type	Private college
Established	1911; 114 years ago (1911)
Founder	David English Camak
Accreditation	SACS
Religious affiliation	United Methodist Church
Endowment	$26.4 million (2024)[1]
President	William Scott Cochran
Academic staff	49 (full-time)
Students	1,220 (2025)
Location	Saxon (Spartanburg address) , South Carolina , United States 34°57′13″N81°58′16″W / 34.95361°N 81.97111°W /34.95361; -81.97111
Campus	metropolitan, 110-acre (45 ha) campus
Colors	Blue & white
Nickname	Pioneers
Sporting affiliations	NAIA -Appalachian Athletic Conference
Mascot	Big Blue
Website	www.smcsc.edu

Spartanburg Methodist College (SMC) is aprivate college inSaxon, South Carolina, United States,^[2] with aSpartanburg postal address. The college is affiliated with theUnited Methodist Church and enrolled 1,220 students for the 2025 fall semester.^[3]

Spartanburg Methodist College has a rich and inspiring history dating back to 1911. It was founded as the Textile Industrial Institute (TII) by David English Camak, who was deeply moved by the challenges faced by southern cotton textile workers. Camak's vision led to the establishment of an elementary and secondary school in a vacant house near Duncan Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church. With the support of Walter S. Montgomery, president of Spartan Mill, the school steadily grew, eventually becoming a mission of the South Carolina Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

In 1913, the college acquired its present campus. It began constructing Charles P. Hammond Hall, which still serves as a residence hall.

Although the work and study schedules helped students attend the Textile Industrial Institute, the school needed additional income. The TII board of trustees recruited members from the South Carolina Methodist conferences, allowed the land to be sold, and paid off the debts to create new funds for the project. The Model Mill opened in 1919, allowing TII to combine education and work as Camak had envisioned. The Model Mill produced weaves, dyed and bleached materials, enhanced the threads to make them more robust, and refined the art of depth in precise dying. The success of the Model Mill was short-lived. In 1921, the mill employed only TII students, but issues with financing led to the closure of the Model Mill in 1922. Students once again returned to off-campus jobs to support them while enrolled at TII.^[4]

By 1927, TII expanded its offerings to include the first two years of college-level education.^[5] After initially providing high school-level courses for young adults working in the area's textile mills, TII expanded its curriculum in 1927 to offer two years of college-level work, granting associate degrees in liberal arts. That allowed graduates to transfer to senior-level colleges or enter the workforce with valuable skills.^[5]

The industrial mill jobs on campus created declines in health due to working in harsh conditions. Many students worked on campus in the kitchen, laundry, or on the farm; others worked in town. The trustees soon realized that the students required additional housing due to the increased enrollment. Eliza Attleton Judd, wife of a local bank president, was interested in helping women access education and offered a solution to the school's housing problem by donating money to create a building for girls on campus. The trustees believed that completing Hammond Hall was a more urgent priority than building a dormitory for girls. Judd continued to support TII with a gift of timberland. In 1928, a decade after her death, the Textile Industrial Institute built Judd Hall, a women's dormitory, in her honor.^[4]

In 1940, TII discontinued its high school classes, and, in 1942, the institution's name was changed to Spartanburg Junior College. In 1974, its name was changed to Spartanburg Methodist College.^[5]

For decades, Spartanburg Methodist College served as a two-year junior college.^[6] In 2019, Spartanburg Methodist College further expanded its academic offerings by introducing bachelor's degree programs.^[7]

The university's current president, Scott Cochran, assumed office on November 16, 2015.^[9][10] The president is appointed by the university's board of trustees, which has 24 members, 5 clergy, and 19 laity, whose terms are staggered on a three-year basis.^[11]

Spartanburg Methodist College isaccredited by theSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and the University Senate of the United Methodist Church.^[12] This accreditation signifies that the college meets or exceeds specific academic standards and ensures the quality of its education. It also means that the college's programs, faculty, and facilities have undergone rigorous evaluation and meet the high standards set by these accrediting bodies. The college is also affiliated with theUnited Methodist Church and theSouth Carolina Annual Conference.

Spartanburg Methodist College offers a range of degree programs to cater to its students' diverse interests and career goals. These include six associate degrees covering arts, business, criminal justice, fine arts, religious studies, and science, and ten bachelor's degree programs covering fields such as business with four different concentrations, business management, psychology, professional writing and digital communications, sports management, humanities, and general studies.^[13]

SMC occupies 110 acres near the western edge of Spartanburg's city limits. The campus has seven residential halls (Willard, Hammond, Kingman, Parsons, Judd, Bridges, and Sparrow) that are co-ed or all-female. Over the past decade, SMC has expanded its campus facilities. In 2012, a new academic building, Ellis Hall, was opened on campus. It houses nine classrooms, a bookstore, and educational offices, including the office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Write Place, student publications, the President's Hall, and Gibbs Auditorium, which seats 275.^[15] In 2019, the 4,000-square-foot Moore Family Fitness Center was opened on campus and provides students with access to aerobics machines, free weights, weight machines, and an aerobics classroom.

The Spartanburg Methodist (SMC) athletic teams are called the Pioneers. The college is a member of theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in theAppalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) starting in the 2025-26 school year. The Pioneers previously competed in theCarolinas Junior College Conference within Region X as a Division I ranked member of theNational Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) until the conclusion of the 2023-24 academic year.

SMC competes in 14 intercollegiate varsity teams. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross-country, golf, soccer, and track and field. Women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, cross-country, golf, soccer, softball, track and field, and volleyball. All 14 teams transitioned to NAIA competition beginning in the 2024-25 academic year. Men's volleyball will be introduced in the 2026-27 academic year.^[16]

SMC's athletic teams have won numerous regional, divisional, and national titles during their time in the NJCAA, establishing the college as a competitive athletic program. The men's soccer team won an NJCAA national championship in 1994 under coach Pete Petersen, who compiled a 78-29-6 record over six seasons at SMC and was later named national junior college coach of the year. Following the championship, Petersen left the college to coach professionally with the South Carolina Shamrocks. Since his departure, the program has experienced limited success at the national level.^[17] Other teams have also competed nationally, including women's golf (three individual Top 50 finishes, 2011), men's tennis (26th place, 2010), wrestling (29th place, 2010), men's cross-country (2nd place, 2012), women's cross-country (16th place, 2009), men's and women's half-marathon (3rd place, 2012), and volleyball (16th place, 2009).

One of the most influential figures in Spartanburg Methodist College athletics was longtime head baseball coach Tim Wallace.^[18] Over 34 seasons, Wallace built the Pioneers into a national contender, leading the team to 12 NJCAA Region 10 championships and seven appearances in the Division I JUCO World Series, including three straight from 2012 to 2014. He earned over 1,350 career wins, ranking fourth all-time in junior college baseball. He was inducted into the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame (2014) and the Wofford College Athletic Hall of Fame. In addition to mentoring 18 NJCAA All-Americans and over 150 players who signed professional contracts, Wallace notably coached four-time MLB All-Star Orlando Hudson.^[19]

Wallace stepped down in early 2025 due to health issues^[20] and died later that year after a battle with brain cancer.^[21] A celebration of life was held at SMC's Camak Auditorium, and the college established the Coach Tim Wallace Memorial Fund in his honor.

On October 2, 2023, it was officially announced that the Spartanburg Methodist Pioneers would join theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) as a member of theContinental Athletic Conference starting in the 2024-25 academic year.^[22] On July 17, 2024, theAppalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) in the NAIA announced that Spartanburg Methodist College will join the conference as a full member for the 2025-26 school year.^[23]

• Notable Spartanburg Methodist College alumni include:
• 
  Olin D. Johnston - South Carolina Governor and Senator, a member of the college's first graduating class.^[24]
• 
  Orlando Hudson - Professional baseball player, known for his career in Major League Baseball.^[25]
• 
  Lee Haney - Eight-time Mr. Olympia.^[26]
• 
  Heath Hembree - Professional baseball pitcher, with a successful MLB career.^[27]
• 
  Mookie Wilson - New York Mets Hall of Famer and MLB World Series champion.^[28]
• 
  Reggie Sanders - Renowned MLB player and All-Star outfielder.^[29]
• 
  Jerry Martin - MLB player with notable contributions to several teams.^[30]
• 
  C. D. Pelham - Former MLB pitcher who debuted with the Texas Rangers.^[31]
• 
  Vernon Taylor - Professional basketball player in Europe.^[32]
• 
  Harris Stanton - Comedian, known for his stand-up performances and television appearances.^[33]
• 
  Sebastián Velásquez - Professional soccer player and standout midfielder.^[34]
• 
  Mel Roberts - Professional baseball coach and former player.^[35]
• 
  Zack Godley - MLB pitcher with impressive performances in the majors.^[36]

• Bill Landrum - professional baseball player^[37]
• Lee Gronkiewicz - professional baseball player^[38]
• Jonathan Hurst - professional baseball player^[39]
• Morris Madden - professional baseball player^[40]
• Jeff McNeely - professional baseball player^[41]
• James Scott - professional basketball player
• Deryk Shockley - professional soccer player^[42]
• Dwight Smith - professional baseball player^[43]
• Glenn Sutko - professional baseball player^[44]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSpartanburg Methodist College.

• Official website
• Official athletics website

34°57′13″N81°58′16″W / 34.9535067°N 81.9712091°W /34.9535067; -81.9712091

• Spartanburg Methodist College
• Private universities and colleges in South Carolina
• United Methodist Church
• Universities and colleges established in 1911
• Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
• Education in Spartanburg County, South Carolina
• Buildings and structures in Spartanburg County, South Carolina
• 1911 establishments in South Carolina

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