Colerain High School – ca. 1970 – Photo courtesy of the Colerain High School Alumni Association

Back in November 1970, Cincinnati State (then called Cincinnati Technical Institute) opened its first extension center at Colerain High School in conjunction with the Northwest School District.   Charles Kern, as assistant principal at Colerain High School, served as the initial coordinator and helped to set up the preliminary program.

Classes were held from 7:00-9:40PM each Monday during the first term.  Courses to be offered at the extension campus included engineering graphics, graphics arts, technical math, electronics, accounting, economics, marketing, business law, beginning typing, beginning shorthand, general chemistry, and anatomy and physiology.  Two 10 week terms attracted 275 students to Colerain High School during the 1970-1971 school year.

Today, Cincinnati State has multiple campuses, including Middletown, West Campus, Oaks Career Development Campuses, and the Workforce Development Center, as well as auxiliary locations such as the Health Professions Academy, Lower Price Hill School, MAX Technical, and Warren County Career Center.

What former professional athlete once served on Cincinnati State’s Board of Directors?

Dave G. Parker – Cincinnati Reds

That would be former major league baseball player Dave Parker.  In August of 1984, Parker was appointed by the Board of Trustees to serve a 3 year term as Director of the Cincinnati State (then called Cincinnati Technical College) Resource Development Fund.

Before playing major league baseball, Parker attended Courter Technical High School (housed in the same building as Cincinnati State), where he lettered in 3 sports – baseball, football, and basketball.  Despite being an outfielder during his professional career, Parker’s primary position at Courter Tech had been as a catcher (and sometimes pitcher).

Parker spent 10 years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he was named National League batting champion for both 1977 and 1978.  He also earned the MVP for the National League in 1978.  Shortly afterwards, Parker was rewarded with baseball’s first million-dollar-per-year contract.  At the end of the 1983 season, Parker signed with his hometown team, the Cincinnati Reds, where he was playing when he was appointed to the position at Cincinnati State.

To celebrate his appointment to the position, the college held a celebrity roast of Parker on January 12, 1985 at the Clarion Hotel.  Check out the full Dave Parker Roast Program.

Front page of Dave Parker Roast Program

Dave Parker getting “roasted” Jan. 12, 1985

Two years later, the David G. Parker Endowed Scholarship fund was created.  On September 11, 1987, there was an event at the Riverfront Stadium (former home of the Cincinnati Reds), where Parker presented two students with a scholarship to attend the college.

Shanda Carroll Scott and Christine Louise “Tina” Shank receiving their scholarships
from Cincinnati Red Dave Parker_ Looking on is Dr. John Henderson Vice President.

Last year, Parker was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

Did you know that not one, but 2 professional sports teams once called the campus of Cincinnati State home?

Trechter Memorial Stadium

Yes, Trechter Memorial Stadium which once stood at Central Parkway and Ludlow Avenue where the 2 parking garages and Lot C currently sit, was once the home of the Cincinnati Comets professional soccer team (1972-1975) and Cincinnati Suds professional softball team (1977-1978).  One of those teams (the Cincinnati Comets) even won a national championship.  Here’s a little more about each of these teams from the Ohio History Center webpage:

Cincinnati Comets Soccer Team

The Cincinnati Comets was a professional soccer team in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team played in the American Soccer League (ASL), a league that existed from 1933 until 1983. The Comets played only four seasons (1972-1975), winning the ASL championship in its first season. In the next three years, the Comets failed to repeat its first season’s success, although the team returned to the championship series in 1973. The squad collapsed at the end of the 1975 season, principally due to a declining fan base.

Cincinnati Suds men’s softball

Photo courtesy of the Pro Softball History Flickr page

The Cincinnati Suds was a men’s professional softball team from Cincinnati, Ohio. The squad was a founding member of the American Professional Slow Pitch League (APSPL) and played four seasons (1977-1980) in that league. The Cincinnati Suds then joined the United Professional Softball League (UPSL) for the 1981 and 1982 seasons as a founding member of this organization.

In the Cincinnati Suds’ first season, the team won thirty and lost twenty-five games, finishing third in the league’s Central Division. The next season, the Suds won forty games and lost twenty-four, finishing first in the league’s Central Division. The Suds lost in the second round of the playoffs. In the 1979 season, the Suds finished second in its division with a record of thirty-four wins and thirty losses. The team lost in the first round of the playoffs this season. During the Suds’ final season in the APSPL, the team finished next to last in the league, with a record of twenty-two wins and forty-two losses.

At the end of the 1980 season the APSPL and the North American Softball League merged together to create the United Professional Softball League. The Suds won the Western Division in its first season (1981) in the UPSL, winning forty-three and losing fifteen games. The team lost in the semi-finals of the playoffs. In the 1982 season, the Suds finished second in the Central Division, losing in the first round of the playoffs. With the UPSL’s demise at the end of the 1982 season, the Cincinnati Suds disbanded.

In December 1978, the Suds ran into financial trouble and didn’t renew their contract to re-use the stadium so it was converted back to a football, soccer, baseball, and softball complex available to area high school teams.  Trechter stadium was demolished in the early 1990s to make room for the Ludlow parking garage and Health Professions Building.

Just this past weekend, some 1,228 students graduated from Cincinnati State.  Do you know how many students graduated in the very first class at Cincinnati State (then called Cincinnati Cooperative School of Technology) in 1968?

According to this News article from 08-21-1968, there were 71 students in that first class.  We unfortunately don’t have the program from that first commencement here in the College Archives, but we do have the 1969 Commencement Program.  (UPDATE: We now have a copy of the 1968_Commencement_Program). You can check out all our commencement programs.

Congrats to all our graduates!  You’re part of the Cincinnati State history books now.

Graduation – Sept. 18, 1988 at Cincinnati Music Hall