[4] Spalding University traces its origins to Nazareth Academy, one of the oldest educational institution west of the Alleghenies.

When Spalding University, originally called Nazareth College, opened in 1920, its sole building was the 1871 structure known as the Tompkins-Buchanan-Rankin House.

This Italianate building was designed and built by architect Henry Whitestone for the family of Joseph T. Tompkins, a wealthy dry-goods merchant and importer.

[9] As successive owners occupied the mansion, they added such treasures as a hand-tooled leather ceiling from Florence for one parlor, ebony mantels, and a large hand-carved hat-rack, which Mr. Buchanan purchased at the New Orleans Exposition.

When Dr. John Coolidge, one-time Director of Harvard's Fogg Art Museum, visited Louisville, he said that Spalding University had the most marvelous display of nineteenth-century stained glass he had ever seen.

[10] Today, the Mansion and the complex it forms with its adjoining wings are used primarily for academic and faculty offices and classrooms.

The primary administrative operations of Spalding University no longer are housed in the Mansion and now are based in the Egan Leadership Center (901 S. Fourth St.), where the office of admissions, most student services and the academic deans are located, and the Third Street Academic Center (845 S. Fourth St.), where the offices of the president and provost exist, as well as the finance, institutional effectiveness, human resources and advancement/fundraising departments.

Bedrooms come equipped with a standard twin size bed, desk and chair, cable box, and wardrobe.

The lower level of the building is now the site of Spalding's student fitness center, lounge and health clinic as well as the athletic department offices.

The building's name was changed from Spalding University Center to Columbia Gym[13] on January 17, 2018, in honor of Ali's history there.

He stopped by the building for a Louisville Service Club event that was occurring upstairs and offered free snacks.

An irate Clay was told out to report the theft to a local police officer named Joe Martin, who was on site because he also happened to run the Columbia Gym and train young boxers.

In honor of Ali and Martin's encounter, a replica red bike now hangs over the front entrance of Columbia Gym.

[15] In 2024, Spalding College was ranked #64 (tie) in the Regional Universities South category by U.S. News & World Report.

[18] In 2006, Spalding changed the name of its athletic nickname from Pelicans to Golden Eagles via a selection committee that included student input.

The image of the Pelican, which embodies peace, justice, service and spiritual values, remains on the university's official seal.

In 2018, Spalding unveiled its first official Golden Eagle mascot, a blue-and-gold bird named Ollie, as selected by a campus-wide vote.