When I entered the University of Wisconsin in 1969, attendance of an ROTC class for one year was mandatory for male students.
It was a requirement mandated as part of the bargain creating land-grant colleges.
Yes! Land grant colleges had ROTC —as did many other colleges.
It appears that rotc is being cut back further?
“requirement mandated as part of the bargain creating land-grant colleges”
Which is why I have advocated on this site that the land grants under the Morrill Act be rescinded at offending “universities”.
In particular the University of California in toto should be shut down and the land repurposed to either federal use or sold off for housing or commercial development.
The people occupying that land and those buildings have no claim on it and are actively abridging the original agreements under the Morrill Act.