Ogden College, an endowed private school for young men, opened in Bowling Green in 1877. Over the next fifty years, its faculty, academic programs, oratorical competitions, clubs and athletics provided unique educational opportunities and produced enthusiastic and loyal alumni. Ogden College merged with the Western Kentucky State Normal School and Teachers College (now Western Kentucky University) in 1927 and its traditions continue today in WKU's Ogden College of Science and Engineering.