Welcome to the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports.

The Stark Center is a research center housed within the Department of Kinesiology & Health Education.  We are a unique combination of library, archive, and gallery/exhibit space. Our regular hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 9am – 5pm. There is no charge for admission and all are welcome.

It's a Good LifeBy
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An Unexpected Pleasure: Kissing the Ground in Equilibrium—A Search for the Origins of the Pushup

One of the things I enjoy most about the Stark Center are the requests we often get for information about some aspect of the history of physical culture. Most of those requests are handled by our incredible Stark Center staff but every now and then a request will make its way to my inbox and I find myself so intrigued that I end up doing research that wasn’t planned because the question made me curious too. This past Sunday was one of those days. I got an unexpected email from Denis Blinov, whom I’ve never met. “May I ask if you...

A color photograph of the entrance to the new exhibit, especially in focus is an illustration of a woman cheering for Texas from the late 1800s or early 1900s.
Curator's CornerBy
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A Cheer for The Cheerleaders

Just in time for a new football season defined by great expectations, we have opened a new exhibit at The Stark Center called “Hullabaloo Hooray: The History of Texas Spirit.” Named for the first official “Varsity” cheer, the exhibit tells the history of yells, cheers, performances, routines, and the students who lead them. Cheering and the Texas Spirit program have always played tremendous roles in shaping and defining what it means to be part of the University of Texas, despite humble beginnings as student run committees. It did not take long for me to see the enormous levels of dedication...

Browse the Complete Journal Archive

The Stark Center features collections from around the world related to all aspects of physical culture and sports.

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