History

The Arkansas General Assembly passed the Morrill Act provisions and created the Arkansas Industrial University (now the University of Arkansas) on March 27, 1871. The university began military training that same year.

In 1873, the War Department assigned Lieutenant E. S. Curtis, an Artillery Officer, and West Point graduate, to oversee military training at the new university. Curtis served from 1872 to 1875 and trained a corps that grew to 120 men by 1875.

The National Defense Act of 1916 established the Reserve Officers Training Corps. The University of Arkansas Army ROTC Program became one of the charter universities under the act. Major C.F. Armistead, former commandant, returned to the university as the first officer to hold the title of Professor of Military Science and Tactics.

In 1927, Lieutenant H. O. Lane led the ROTC rifle team to its first of three consecutive National Championships, winning the William Randolph Hearst Trophy in 1927, 1928, and 1929. The program also added National Championships in 1944 and 1957.

Since WWII, the Army ROTC program has trained students to become officers. In the fall of 1969, the university made military training elective, rather than compulsory.