RonnieAdventures: RonnieAdventure #0663 - Gardner-Webb University, Boiling Springs, North Carolina

Picture by Kolohe

Gardner-Webb is a private University located in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. The University offers over 80 undergraduate and graduate major fields of study and most of their sports teams, known as the "Runnin' Bulldogs," compete in NCAA Division 1 as part of the Big South Conference.

Gardner-Webb was chartered in 1905 as a result of an initiative sponsored by the Kings Mountain Baptist Association and the Sandy Run Baptist Association, as a place where young people could "have the best possible educational advantages under distinctive Christian influence." Tuition for the first nine-month term was $76.05.

Over the years, the University has expanded and now has students from 47 foreign countries. Average class size is 17 students. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni is an organization that rates schools on an "A" through "F" scale, and Gardner Webb was the only school in the Carolinas to earn an "A" rating from 2011 to 2021. The 2025 average admissions statistics were: SAT - 1015, ACT - 22, GPA - 3.72.

The University's 225-acre campus is located in the town of Boiling Springs, which is in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the western part of the Charlotte Metropolitan Area. Boiling Springs, for which the town is named, are located on the University campus and form a lake that adds to the tranquil aesthetics of the campus.

In Mid-March we visited the campus to visit Granddaughter Ashley and be there for her final basketball game and awards ceremony. We left Las Vegas in the afternoon, but due to the three-hour time change, it was dark by the time we landed in Charlotte.

Picture by Kolohe

When we toured the campus, spring had not yet sprung; so the deciduous trees were still bare and the grass was still brown.

The night before the last basketball game, Ashley and another senior were honored at a G-Webb sponsored banquet that was held in the Student Union Building. Ashley was recognized for her many basketball achievements and awards received in the past two years:

This year Ashley was named Woman's Basketball Player of the Year for the entire NCAA Division 1 Big South Conference. She was also Gardner-Webb's player of the year.

She made over 1,000 basketball points in just her last two years at Gardner-Webb University. Most players do not make that many points in four years of playing at the Division 1 level.

This year she set Gardner-Webb's all-time woman's scoring record by scoring 47 points in a single game. That was also the Big South NCAA Division 1 season woman's basketball record.

Picture by Kolohe

Photographer Unknown

It was a little on the cold side while we were in Boiling Springs, but Ashley toured us around some of the buildings where she attends classes.

Picture by Kolohe

On our tour we went past the apartments where Ashley lives and noted one poor, starving college student sitting in a chair trying to absorb some sunlight.

Picture by Kolohe

The Paul Porter Arena where basketball games are played is part of the Lutz-Yelton Convention Center. The Center is located on the side of a hill and because of the elevation change, the north side entrance is at the top of the seating area while the south side entrance is on the arena's floor level.

Picture by Kolohe

Since we were there for the final game of the season, we were invited to run out onto the floor with the players. Kolohe printed a number of Ashley pictures from when she was younger that we held up during the game and we were even on television with our pictures.