Miles College Fun Facts and Information

DrewFranklinKSR

This Friday night, Kentucky Basketball hosts Miles College in one final tune-up before the Wildcats’ season begins Tuesday in the Champions Classic. (Yes, Kentucky-Duke is almost here. Pay attention.) Kentucky’s second of two exhibition games will bring the Miles Golden Bears to Rupp Arena for a friendly in the first-ever basketball meeting between the two schools.

Since we’ve never met Miles College, KSR did the thing where you Facebook stalk someone to the point you know their whole life story and family history and then play dumb when you finally meet them. Here’s what KSR found out about Miles before Kentucky’s run-in with the Golden Bears on the basketball court Friday night. Tip-off is at seven o’clock.

Miles College

Location: Fairfield, Alabama

Fairfield shares a county with Birmingham as part of the southwest Birmingham Metropolitan Area. Originally a company town for United States Steel, the city was first called Corey for U.S. Steel president William E. Corey; who sounds like a real conceited guy. Corey was later renamed Fairfield after Fairfield, Connecticut, the hometown of another U.S. Steel executive. Would anyone else in the U.S. Steel building like to name the city?

Did You Know?

Actor George Lindsey, who portrayed Goober Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show, was born in Fairfield. Another local legend, Major League Baseball great Willie “The Say Hey Kid” Mays played several sports at Fairfield Industrial High School.

HBCU | United Negro College Fund

Founded in 1898, Miles College is a historically black college associated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of one of the church’s founders, Bishop William H. Miles. Miles is a member of the United Negro College Fund, an organization that provides scholarships for minority education at several HBCUs. UNCF has provided support for over 60,000 students at over 900 colleges.

Did You Know?

This season, Kentucky Basketball will begin its “Unity Series” against HBCUs from the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The five-year commitment starts with a game against Southern, coached by former Kentucky star Sean Woods, on December 7. The game and series are in partnership with the McLendon Foundation.

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC)

Miles competes in NCAA Division II’s Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Kentucky State University is also in the SIAC, along with Albany State, Allen, Benedict, Central State, Clark Atlanta, Edward Waters, Fort Valley State, Lane, LeMoyne-Owen, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State, Spring Hill, and Tuskegee.

Did You Know?

Miles College will be only the second Division II HBCU to sit on the bench opposite of Kentucky in Rupp Arena. Kentucky State is UK’s only other Division II HBCU opponent; the Thorobreds played exhibition games in Lexington in 2015 and 2019, and a real game in 2001.

Miles’ SIAC Basketball Success

The Golden Bears won the last two Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament championships in 2018 and 2019. The SIAC did not finish the 2020 season and did not play a conference tournament in 2020-21.

Did You Know?

Following the shortened 2020-21 season, Miles guard Avery Brown and coach Fred Watson were named Division II All-American and Division II Coach of the Year by the Black College Sports Network, respectively. Both are back in 2021-22; Brown returning 17 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.8 steals per game from a year ago.

Charles Barkley’s Generosity

In January of 2020, NBA Hall of Famer and Birmingham-area native Charles Barkley gave $1 million to Miles College. Barkley’s gift is the largest donation in the history of the school.

Barkley made the contribution for Bobbie Knight (not that Bobby Knight), the first woman president at Miles College. “To have a female president is a big deal,” Barkley said. “I want to help Bobbie be as successful as she can be.”

Did You Know?

Charles Barkley and Auburn lost to Kentucky in the 1984 SEC Tournament championship game in Nashville. Kenny Walker’s buzzer-beater gave the Wildcats their 14th SEC Tournament title and left Barkley in tears after the game.

$20,000 Guarantee

According to Jerry Tipton’s story on the game, Miles College has a $20,000 guarantee from Kentucky for providing exhibition competition. Miles head coach Fred Watson told Kentucky.com the revenue from the Kentucky game will go toward a new film room and extra shoes for the team.

Did You Know?

Kentucky’s all-time record in exhibition games is 140-12. The last exhibition loss and the only exhibition loss in almost 20 years came against the Dominican Republic in the sixth game of the 2014-15 team’s six-game Bahamas trip.