1991 NCAA Athletic Dorm Ban

The concept of housing athletes together, but apart from other students still remains controversial. Those supporting dorms argue that student-athletes deserve these luxury accommodations, that these athlete-only dorms are a reward for their athletic success. Furthermore, having players live together fosters team cohesion and unity. But others identify specific disadvantages, typically highlighting the unique, and oftentimes, hyper-masculine culture the dorm inhibits (Koonce, Holstein and Jones, 2014).

The 1991 NCAA Convention decided that athletic dorms contributed to feelings of student-athlete isolation identified by a nationwide survey. Members were given five years to eliminate any housing in which more than 49 percent of the occupants are athletes (Bedell, 1997). 

Alabama coaching legend Paul “Bear” Bryant ordered the construction of the first athletic dorm in the late 1950s, and his competitors felt compelled to follow (Bedell, 1997). Even smaller universities, like Trinity University, followed this trend in constructing an athlete-only dormitory as early as 1949. However Trinity’s stint as administrators of the athletic dorm was short-lived, in 1960, the ‘Mulberry House,’ home to twenty Tiger football players, was leased to Dr. Dean Kuykendall, director of placement and testing (“Mulberry House Leased By Southwest Research,” 1960).