Transylvania’s intercollegiate athletic teams are known as the “Pioneers” to reflect the pioneering role the university has played in American higher education for over 230 years. When Transylvania was chartered in 1780, Daniel Boone and other well-known frontiersmen were still leading settlers into the wilderness of what was to become Kentucky. When Transylvania first opened its doors, the American Revolution was still in progress. The university became the 16th oldest institution of higher learning in the nation and the oldest west of the Allegheny Mountains.