Dean W. Colvard
American academic administrator (1913–2007)
Dean Wallace Colvard (July 10, 1913 – June 28, 2007) was a president of Mississippi State University, notable for his role in a 1963 controversy surrounding the participation of the university's basketball team in the NCAA tournament.
Early life and education
Colvard was born in Grassy Creek, Ashe County, North Carolina on July 10, 1913. Colvard received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Berea College, and followed that up by getting his Master of Arts from the University of Missouri. He then went to Purdue University and received his Ph.D. in science and mathematics. Colvard attended college for a total of 19 years, from 1931 until 1950.
Career
Mississippi State University
After serving as the Dean of Agriculture at North Carolina State University, Colvard became president of Mississippi State University. He arrived in 1960, when Mississippi had an "unwritten law" against integrated collegiate athletics. This meant that no team from Mississippi could accept an invitation to play against any team that had African Americans on it. The rule came into effect after 1955, when Jones County Junior College accepted the invitation to the Junior Rose Bowl against a team of mixed race from Compton, California.
During the eight-year existence of the "unwritten law", no team confronted it more than the MSU Maroons basketball team.
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