Type Private Nickname Wildcats | Active 1844–1982 | |
 | ||
Location Milton, Wisconsin, United States Colors Blue and Brown before 1964
Blue and Gold after 1964 Sporting affiliations National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics | ||
Milton College was a private college located in Milton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1844 as the Milton Academy, it closed in 1982. Its campus is now part of the Milton Historic District.
Contents
History
The college was founded as the Milton Academy (high school) by a group of early Milton settlers, including Milton House owner Joseph Goodrich. It eventually grew to encompass 16 buildings spread over 24 acres (97,000 m2). Its music department was renowned, and a high percentage of foreign students for the era kept the student body diverse. Although initially many of the students came from Milton, in later years alumni of the college would stay in Milton or return.
Closing
On May 15, 1982, Milton College abruptly closed its doors. At the time, it was Wisconsin's oldest continually operating college. The college's board of trustees had voted 18-2 to close the campus following a notification from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools that the college's accreditation would be dropped in the fall term; it had previously been on probationary status. The decision from North Central stemmed from the college's continual shaky financial situation, which culminated in a $4 million debt. Milton College had, in fact, been struggling financially since the Great Depression, 50 years earlier. Without accreditation, the college would not have seen any federal loans or grants, adding to an already difficult situation of decreasing student enrollment. Furthermore, it would have no longer been able to compete with schools in the Wisconsin State University System.
Some 135 students had been planning to come back to campus when the school closed, many with only a few credits left until completion of their studies. Officials negotiated with other campuses to accept Milton students.
Athletics
The college was a member of the NAIA and participated in the sports of baseball, basketball and football.
Football
Milton fielded its first football team in 1899 and its last in 1981. No teams were fielded from 1904 to 1915 and from 1943 to 1945. During this time the college produced seven All-Americans and nine conference titles. The Wildcats played in 419 games during this time with a record of 194-207-18. The school was a member of the Illini-Badger Football Conference from 1976 to 1981 where they were conference champions in 1935, 1956, 1961, 1964, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1980, and 1981.
Greek life
Fraternities
No fraternities or sororities were on campus after 1977 due to falling attendance.
Media
Campus adaptive reuse
When the school closed, the buildings were turned over to the banks that kept it alive over the years. Most of the buildings have been converted to commercial or residential use.