Marion Military Institute

Marion Military Institute

Motto	Truth, Honor, Service
Type	Publicmilitary junior college
Established	1842; 182 years ago(1842)
Founder	James T. Murfee
Parent institution	Alabama Community College System
Accreditation	SACS
Academic affiliations	AMCSUS
President	Colonel David J. Mollahan, USMC (Ret.)
Commandant	Colonel Edwin W. Passmore, USA (Ret.)
Academic staff	20 Full-time & 6 Part-time[1]
Students	320[1]
Location	Marion , Alabama , United States 32°37′25″N87°19′16″W / 32.6237°N 87.3211°W /32.6237; -87.3211
Campus	Rural, 160 acres (0.65 km2)
Colors	Orangeandblack
Sporting affiliations	NJCAADivision I–ACCC
Mascot	Tigers
Website	marionmilitary.edu

Marion Military Institute, the Military College of Alabama, (MMI, sometimesMarion Institute,Marion Military, or simplyMarion) is apublicmilitary junior collegeinMarion, Alabama. Founded in 1842, it is the official statemilitary collegeofAlabamaand the nation's oldest military junior college.^[2]

Marion Military Institute is one of only four military junior colleges in the United States.^[3]These programs include the Army's two-yearEarly Commissioning Program(ECP), an ArmyReserve Officers Training Corpsprogram through which qualified cadets can earn a commission as aSecond Lieutenantafter only two years of college.^[4]MMI's ECP is one of the country's leadingU.S. Armycommissioning programs.^[2]TheService AcademyProgram (SAP) is a freshman year of academic and physical preparation for students who wish to attend one of the Service Academies in the United States. It is designated, endorsed, and selected by all five Service Academies.^[5]MMI also offersMarine CorpsPlatoon Leaders Course(PLC) and the first two years ofAir Force Reserve Officer Training Corps.^[6][7]Over the years, MMI has produced more than 200 generals and admirals in theUnited States Armed Forces.^[8][9]

MMI is accredited by theSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Collegesto awardAssociate of ArtsandAssociate of Sciencedegrees.^[10]It has association memberships in theAssociation of Military Colleges and Schools of the United Statesand theAlabama College Conference.^[11]The accreditation by theSouthern Association of Colleges and Schoolsand theCommission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditationentitles all the services and privileges of regional, national and international professional recognition.

Marion Military Institute is anAlabama Historical Marker.^[12]It is the home of twoNational Register of Historic Places- TheMMI Chapel and Lovelace Hall, and thePresident's House.^[13][14]The Alabama Military Hall of Honor (the Old Marion City Hall), created by executive order of Gov.George Wallacein 1975, is also on campus.^[2]

Marion Military Institute traces its origins back to 1842 with the creation of Howard College in Marion, Alabama by theAlabama Baptist Convention.^[2]During theAmerican Civil War, South Barracks (later known as Lovelace Hall), built in 1854, and the chapel, built in 1857, served theConfederacyas Breckenridge Military Hospital from 1863 to 1865.^[2]Along with thePresident's House(built 1912), these buildings are listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.^[13][14]

In 1887, the decision was made to move Howard College (nowSamford University) toBirmingham. The then President of Howard College, ColonelJ. T. Murfee,LL.D.,^[15]and a handful of faculty and students decided to remain in Marion, Alabama and immediately reorganized and founded Marion Military Institute, a military preparatory high school and college.^[2]It was modeled after Murfee'salma mater-Virginia Military Institute.^[2]Although built as a military college, H. O. Murfee, MMI's second president, believed that Marion was destined to become the "American Eton."^[16]Under his leadership, MMI achieved national recognition.PresidentWilliam Howard Taftserved as President of the board of trustees. Then president ofPrinceton University,Woodrow Wilsonwas the guest speaker at the convocation for the class of 1905.^[17]However, the plan to pattern the school after Eton College was interrupted by World War I. The military nature of MMI was again emphasized due to the outbreak of the war.^[17]In 1916,United States ArmyROTCprogram was first offered at MMI, when the institute was designated as an "Honor Military School with Distinction" by theUnited States Department of War.^[18]

TheU.S. ArmyEarly Commissioning Program was established at MMI in 1968 by Park Place.^[2]In 1971, MMI became coeducational.^[2]In March 2006, the Alabamastate legislaturepassed aresolutionplacing MMI under the auspices of the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education. MMI became "the State Military College of Alabama".^[2]As part of the transition to a public institution, Marion phased out its high school program. In May 2009, the last high school class graduated from Marion Military Institute's Preparatory School Program, a program that traced its origins back to 1887.

In 2011, an MMI counselor Reginald Marable filed a lawsuit against the school after not being retained. Marable claimed he was harassed and fired for bringing up allegations that the school was discriminating against black students, including the idea that race mixing was forbidden.^[19]The United States District Court Southern District of Alabama ruled in the school's favor.^[20]In 2014, the plaintiff lost again on appeal, the court noting that racial animus was not a sufficient reason for ruling in the plaintiff's favor.^[21]

The Corps of Cadets is organized into a battalion consisting of the Headquarters staff and six companies including Band, A, B, C, D, and E.^[17]A cadet lieutenant colonel command and control of headquarters and five companies of cadets as the battalion commander.^[17]Each company has a cadet captain commanding, a cadet first lieutenant executive officer, two cadet second lieutenant platoon leaders, a cadet first sergeant, and two cadet sergeant first class platoon sergeants.^[17]Each platoon normally has three to four squads and each squad is led by a cadet staff sergeant. Each squad leader has a team leader serving with the rank of cadet sergeant or corporal, depending on experience and ability.^[17]

Class A uniform rank insignia	Class B, C andACUrank insignia	Cadet rank	Position
		Lieutenant Colonel	Battalion Commander
		Major	Battalion XO, S3 Honor Council Chair
		Captain	Company Commanders Battalion S1, S2, S4, S5
		First Lieutenant	Company XO Battalion Chaplain Organizational Commanders (White Knight, Swamp Fox, and Honor Guard, HQ Staff Assistant)
		Second Lieutenant	Platoon Leader
		Command Sergeant Major	Battalion Sergeant Major
		First Sergeant	Company First Sergeant
		Sergeant First Class	Platoon Sergeant
N/A		Staff Sergeant	Squad Leader Assistant S5
N/A		Sergeant	Team Leader
N/A		Corporal	Team Leader
N/A		Private First Class
N/A		Private
N/A	N/A	Private	New Recruits

Marion Military Institute athletics is nicknamed "Tigers".^[22]It is a member ofAlabama Community College Conference(ACCC/Region XXII), which is a part ofNational Junior College Athletic Association(NJCAA)Division I.^[22]Currently, MMI has varsity teams forbaseball,men's basketball,softball,tennis,cross country, andgolf.^[22]The school colors were originallypinkandgreenwhen established, but they were changed to orange and black following Woodraw Wilson's appearance at the MMI convocation.^[17]Marion adopted the tiger as the mascot in tribute to Princeton University.^[17]

After 15 consecutive winning games, MMI men's basketball team made history to capture school's first ACCC Basketball Championships in 2015–2016 season.^[23][24]They also represented Region XXII at the NJCAA Men's National Basketball Championships, but lost toMcLennan Community College(70-78) in the first round.^[25]Marion Military Institute men's tennis team showed its dominance in the state of Alabama by holding the NJCAA Region XXII Championship five years in a row from 2011 to 2016.^[26]In 2013, the school hired formerMLBplayerMatt Downsas the head coach of the baseball team.^[27]In 2016, Christopher Lawrence, former personal trainer ofJavier ArenasandKirani James, became the Marion's cross country coach.^[28]

Marion Military Institute also had a football team, which captured the state championship in 1912.^[29]On November 28, 1918, MMI earned a 101–0 victory over Howard College Football Team at home. This is MMI Football's largest margin of victory and the second largest margins of defeat in the history of Samford University Football Team.^[30]In1922 season, MMI cadets were defeated 0-110 by theUniversity of AlabamaatTuscaloosa, Alabamain what still stands as the school record for largest margin of victory and as the Crimson Tide's only100 point game.^[31]

16 individuals have been president of Marion Military Institute:^[32]

No.	Portrait	Name	Term	Notes
1		J.T. Murfee	1887–1906	Former lieutenant colonel,CSA[33] First captainand standing 1st inVMIClass of 1853[34][33]
2		H.O. Murfee	1906–1919
3		W.L. Murfee	1919–1944
4	–	J.T. Murfee II	1944–1953
5	–	Linton H. Baer	1953–1954
6	–	Robert Calhoun Provine	1954–1958
7		Cato D. Glover	1958–1959	Admiral, USN (Ret.)
8	–	Paul B. Robinson	1959–1973
9		Draper Kauffman	1974–1976	Rear admiral, USN (Ret.)
10	–	Thomas H. Barfield	1976–1983	Major general, USA (Ret.) Class of 1935[8]
11	–	Clyde W. Spence	1983–1990	Major general, USA (Ret.) Class of 1946[8]
12	–	Joseph L. Fant III	1990–1994	Major general, USA (Ret.) Class of 1947[8]
13		Wayne T. Adams	1994–1998	Brigadier general, USMC (Ret.) Class of 1960[8]
		vacancy	1998–2000
14		Robert F. Foley	2000–2004	Lieutenant general, USA (Ret.) Medal of Honorrecipient
15	–	James H. Benson	2004–2009	Colonel, USMC (Ret.)
16		David J. Mollahan	2009–present	Colonel, USMC (Ret.)

• Mike Carey, member of theUnited States House of Representatives
• Bernard Ford, former NFL player
• Miller Reese Hutchison, electrical engineer. Inventor of Klaxton Horn and hearing aids. Associate ofThomas Alva Edison
• Maston E. O'Neal, Jr., member of theUnited States House of Representatives
• Jimmy Rane, founder and CEO of Great Southern Wood Preserving
• Eugene Sledge, United States Marine, professor, and author
• Tom Stagg, judge for theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
• Dwight Stone, former NFL player
• Robert H. York, U.S. Army lieutenant general^[40]

• Judson College

• Official website
• Official athletics website