Writing

The following feature article appears in the Spring/Summer 2019 issue of Third + Broadway magazine. Billy Reed’s path seemed clear right out of high school. The future Hall of Fame sports writer already was covering games for two daily newspapers, and he had a journalism scholarship in hand to the University of Kentucky. Reed instead chose Transylvania University, which didn’t even offer a journalism class at the time. The reason was pretty trivial: It would have been a hassle for him to drive across town from work to UK, not to mention find a place to park. But the impact of his broad-based Transy education was anything but trivial. Being so busy, Reed wasn’t exactly a great student. But the breadth of what he learned helped him become a great writer. “I did learn a little bit about a lot of things,” says the 1966 graduate. That’s the result of Transylvania being steeped in the liberal arts tradition, which forces students out of well-worn ruts, helping them make unexpected connections between far-flung subjects. It also develops the whole person through a range of enriching activities — from mentorships to cultivation of self-expression and discovery. “I became a big believer in the liberal arts,” Reed says. In fact, one of this courtside scribe’s favorite classes at Transy was Philosophy, Religion and Life. “If you read good sports writers, they will have various allusions — literary allusions, historical allusions,” he says. “It’s because

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