Lane College is a four-year, historically black college associated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, located in Jackson, Tennessee, just northeast of the downtown area. It is primarily a liberal arts institution. Lane College was founded in 1882 by the Colored Methodist Episcopal (C.M.E.) Church in America as the “C.M.E. High School.” Planning for the school had begun in 1878, but the school's establishment was delayed by a yellow fever epidemic in the region in 1878. Its primary purpose was the education of newly freed slaves, and the original curriculum focused on the preparation of "teachers and preachers." Bishop Isaac Lane of the C.M.E. Church is considered to have been the school's founder, and his daughter, Jennie Lane, was its first teacher. Lane College has from the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's degrees. Its academic divisions and programs are: The Lane College Department of Athletics sponsors men's intercollegiate baseball, basketball, football, cross country, and tennis along with women's intercollegiate softball, basketball, cross country, volleyball and tennis.