1993 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE | ASA COCHRANE
Professor Asa Cochrane introduced football to Milligan in 1920-21. Archived records show that the record for the first season as four wins and three losses. He taught at Milligan from 1920-1948. The buffalo was first introduced as Milligan's official mascot in 1921.
During 1931-32, “Prof.” coached football, and the Milligan team placed second in the conference. The year the Prof. coached basketball, the team won the Smokey Mountain Basketball Conference. He was the first organizer of the M-Club for all who earned a letter in a Milligan sport.
Professor and Mrs. Cochrane, who were "Mom" and "Prof." to the Milligan boys, served as the first house parents of Pardee Hall and continued in that role for 28 years. Prof. Cochrane taught biology and advised pre-med students in addition to teaching a weekly Sunday School class for Milligan men.
Mrs. Cochrane was the soft-spoken, tender-hearted "mother away from mother" to the boys. She was the one who "had the hot water bottle ready after a football game, bandaged a wound, or called the doctor when the illness was too serious for her skills."
After the Great Depression, the college once again began to flourish. By 1938 there were more than 315 students enrolled. Professor Cochrane jokingly remarked that "Milligan needed rubber buildings so they will stretch."
After leaving Milligan, Prof. taught one year at Steed College in Johnson City, and then for 15 years was on the faculty of Tusculum College. He died in 1968.
Prof. and Mrs. Cochrane have one son, Mr. Frazier Cochrane who is a Milligan alumnus, class of 1941.