Maryville College earns second-place finish in Blue Ridge Outdoors Top Adventure College contest
June 30, 2023
In a heated contest that came down to the wire, Maryville College came up short of the title of Top Adventure College for 2023 — but the second-place finish over 30 other schools is a win nonetheless.
The contest, sponsored by Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine and LOWA boots, 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 championship matchup between MC — which emerged victorious in 2022 — and East Tennessee State University. Other competitors included the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Clemson University, Berea College, the University of North Carolina-Asheville, Penn State, the University of Georgia and more.
“While we’re sad to have come up a few votes short this year, we’re grateful to all those who so faithfully voted for us,” said Maryville College President Dr. Bryan Coker. “Even a second-place finish confirms that we’re one of the very best colleges for adventure and exploration, located in one of the world’s most scenic and opportune locations.”
That Maryville College bested much larger schools to make it to the championship 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 Tyson Murphy ’03, director of Mountain Challenge.
Mountain Challenge is one of several tentpole superlatives that undoubtedly helped the College come so close to winning the title for the second year in a row. 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 on the measurement of humanity’s impact on this place, has been part of MC’s efforts for a decade now. From discipline-specific majors to applying lessons learned through internships off campus and around the world or majors directly related to being of and for the East Tennessee region —Environmental Studies, Environmental Science, and Outdoor Studies and Tourism among them — 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. And regardless of the second-place finish, all of those things make Maryville College a winner nevertheless, Murphy added.
“To be head-to-head with such a large school, win or lose, is a great accomplishment,” he said. “I really thank all our faculty, staff, alumni, participants and community for helping us get so far. To me, the final round is really a testament to the beauty, resources, and access to recreational areas in East Tennessee. In the end, we plan on doing what we did last year and the many years before that — getting people active and outside.”
Blue Ridge Outdoors announced the winner of the competition in the spring and will feature an in-depth profile of the winner in its August print edition. For more information, visit https://blueridgeoutdoors.com.