 Maroon has been the official color of Eastern athletics since the school was begun as the Eastern Kentucky State Normal School in 1906, and the school's official team nickname was the "Maroons" from the start of intercollegiate competition in 1909–10 until 1963, when then-president Robert Martin changed the nickname to the "Colonels".A member of the Ohio Valley Conference, Eastern Kentucky University sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports.Eastern has traditionally been quite successful on the football field, having won 20 OVC conference titles and two Division I-AA National Championships in 1979 and 1982.