Men's athletic teams: Women's athletic teams: Newberry College has a diverse line-up in men's and women's sports including baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, volleyball, and wrestling. The college is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II and the South Atlantic Conference. The school is famous for being on the losing end of a tilt against Furman University, in which Frank Selvy scored 100 points.
Music program
The music program at Newberry College has a history in vocal and instrumental performance dating back over 100 years, and a jazz band and marching band in existence since 1956. In 1956, a major turning point in the school's musical history took place, when respected military band leader and alumnus Charles "Chief" Pruitt organized the jazz band and the marching band after returning to the school to teach music. The Newberry College marching band, which has been in existence since that time, is one of the most unusual aspects of Newberry College's music program. Newberry is one of the smallest colleges in the country with a marching band, and it is the only Lutheran school in the country with a marching band. Also in 1956, Pruitt hosted the first jazz festival at Newberry College. This jazz festival has since become a unique annual tradition at Newberry College, and is considered to be the second oldest jazz festival in the nation.
V-12: Navy College Training Program
In 1943, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox announced the start of a new college training program, the V-12 Navy College Training Program. The program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II. Newberry College became one of 131 colleges and universities in the United States chosen to participate in the V-12 program. On July 1, 1943, the first 325 cadets arrived on campus; they included both V-12 Cadets and V-5 Aviation Cadets. The cadets attended classes for periods of one to six terms of 16 weeks. Work was planned so that each term was the equivalent of a normal college semester. The Navy handled the discipline of its cadets, directed the physical fitness program, provided military drills and cooperated with the College in the direction of the program. During the 27 months the V-12 Program were a part of the college, over 1,000 cadets were assigned to Newberry. On October 31, 1945, the V-12 Unit was decommissioned and Newberry College returned to its civilian status.
From 1972 until 1976, the United States Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps was established at Newberry. Through this program, selected students were commissioned as second lieutenants in the USAF and many served distinguished careers in the service of their nation. In addition to Det. 777, an Arnold Air Society and an Angel Flight program was also active during this period. Due to the manning authorization of the Air Force following the Vietnam War, Detachment 777 of Newberry College was deactivated.
Newberry College hosted the annual South Carolina Science Olympiad competition for 33 years in a row, from 1985 to 2018. The competition has been dominated recently by Clinton High School and Clinton Middle School. The tournament has produced national champions on six occasions: Irmo Middle School three times, and Irmo High School three times.
Department of Business Administration
The Department of Business Administration at Newberry College offers degrees in General Business Administration, Accounting, and Healthcare Management. Faculty consists of scholar-practitioners with relevant real-world experience and scholarly research. The department is currently proposing a new curriculum that includes the institution's first online graduate offering in Organizational Development and Leadership.
