Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Duke University chapter.

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a social and religious group for athletes and coaches. The Duke University chapter was founded in 1960.

From the description of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Duke University chapter records, 1960-1965. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 57226168

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a national organization, was founded in 1954 by Don McClanen. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes challenges coaches and athletes at the professional, college, high school, junior high, and youth levels to use the medium of athletics to learn leadership and moral values of the Christian faith. In 1956, coaches and 256 athletes attended the first national sports camp at Estes Park, Colorado. By 1964, summer programs were also established at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and Black Mountain, North Carolina. By 1989, there were 40,000 official members. Close to 14,000 people attended summer camps in 1995. Campus programs called Huddles were established in 1966 to provide a peer-group meeting structure for camp attendees during the school year. The number of campuses with Huddle fellowships grew to around 6,600 by 1997. The organization is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Duke University chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes was installed in 1960. Like other chapters, the Duke University chapter emphasizes leadership and fellowship among athletes and their communities. The Duke University chapter included baseball, basketball, football, and track players and coaches, but football players were the chapter's most well-represented group during the early 1960s. Informal chapter meetings were held weekly and monthly. Weekly meetings were for students only, while monthly meetings included a guest speaker during dinner. Members of the Duke chapter attended summer conferences, presented programs to churches, schools, and clubs, and assisted other colleges with forming chapters.

Religious groups at Duke University, alumni, and people in the community supported the chapter financially. Annual sermons were held in the Duke University Chapel to raise awareness of the chapter's activities. During the spring, the Athletics Department sponsored a Blue-White Spring Football Scrimmage to help the chapter raise funds for conference tuition. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes program at Duke University was managed in cooperation with the Durham County High Schools, which provided means for recruiting new athletes to play at Duke University.

As of 2003, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes is active at Duke University.

From the guide to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Duke University Chapter Records, ., 1960 - 1965, (University Archives, Duke University)