Oberlin was the first college in the United States to accept African-American students (1835) and also the first coeducational institution. The first four women to enter as full students were Mary Kellogg (Fairchild), Mary Caroline Rudd, Mary Hosford, and Elizabeth Prall. All but Kellogg graduated.
The school's sports teams are called the Yeomen. They participate in the NCAA's Division III and the North Coast Athletic Conference. Oberlin's football team was the first team coached by legendary coach John Heisman, who led the team to a 7-0 record in 1892.
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Both the college and the town of Oberlin, Ohio, were founded in 1833 by a pair of Presbyterian ministers, John Shipherd and Philo P. Stewart. The ministers named their project after John Frederick Oberlin, an Alsatian minister they both admired.
The college was built on 500 acres of land explicitly donated by the previous owner, who lived in Connecticut. Shipherd and Stewart's vision was for both a religious community and school. For a more detailed history of the founding of the town and the college, see Oberlin, Ohio.History