Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine names MC the Top Adventure College
April 15, 2022
After emerging victorious over 31 other higher education institutions, Maryville College was crowned as the Top Adventure College.
The contest, sponsored by Adventures on the Gorge and Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine, initially selected 32 colleges and universities “for their outdoor clubs and curricula, their commitment to outdoor and environmental initiatives, the quality of their outdoor athletes and programs, and their local opportunities for adventure.”
The March Madness-style bracket competition relied on the votes of each school’s individual supporters to advance, culminating in a matchup between MC and West Virginia University — which claimed the title in both 2020 and 2021. Other competitors included the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Clemson University, Berea College, the University of North Carolina-Asheville and more.
That Maryville College bested such worthy competitors is both an honor and a testament to MC’s commitment to using the East Tennessee countryside, including the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in a number of educational capacities, said Bruce Guillaume ’76, founder and director of Mountain Challenge.
“In addition to the Park right next to us, we are also within 90 minutes of lakes, scenic rivers, national forests, designated wilderness areas and amazing state parks. In short, we are in the middle of everything outdoors!” Guillaume said. “Maryville College is incredibly unique in that outdoor activity participation is understood as a valuable educational experience, and students earn academic credit. The entire campus community, beginning with President Bryan Coker, supports these efforts in clear ways.”
Mountain Challenge is one of numerous tentpole superlatives that undoubtedly helped the College win the title. Operating out of the Crawford House on the MC campus, the organization works closely with students to provide team-building opportunities and outdoor experiences ranging from ropes course activities to whitewater and flatwater rafting trips to more. Many take place in the Smokies, which is also the location of the College’s Great Smokies Experience, a one-of-a-kind, credit-bearing, introductory college experience for high school juniors and seniors that takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the environment and sustainability.
Sustainability, in fact, is a touchstone of the College, where scientific research on flora and fauna of the region, as well as measurement on humanity’s impact on this pace, has been part of MC’s efforts for a decade now. Whether through traditional liberal arts majors; courses in discipline-specific majors or the interdisciplinary Environmental Studies major; applying lessons learned through internships off campus and around the world or in the Sustainability Studies minor, Environmental Science major or Outdoor Studies and Tourism major, students have multiple opportunities to study and reflect on the outdoors at Maryville College.
Combined with the natural wonders literally in the College’s backyard — the Maryville College Woods is a 140-acre tract of wilderness on campus grounds, and Scots Ridge Farm, home of the MC Equestrian Team, is a few minutes away — the opportunities for communion with nature, and adventure within it, are boundless.
“I often state that Maryville College’s greatest differentiator from other colleges and universities is our scenic and opportune location, just minutes away from the nation’s most visited national park,” Coker said. “To now be named the Top Adventure College amongst 31 other notable institutions, is quite the validation of this amazing place we’re so fortunate to call home.” Blue Ridge Outdoors announced the winner of the competition today and will feature an in-depth profile of the College in its June print edition. For more information, visit https://blueridgeoutdoors.com.
