On September 24, 1905, four cadets at Virginia Polytechnic Institute were accused of having violated college rules by hazing a freshman cadet named Bowly. The four upperclassmen were caught by Lieutenant-Colonel William Mayo Brodie in the act of "bucking" Bowly in his dorm room. A faculty meeting was called immediately to level charges of hazing against the students and to question them on the matter. Shortly after the incident, one of the boys, J. L. Brown, left the college. The other three students, William B. Christian, Julian M. Salley, and Rowland P. Eubank, were found guilty by the faculty and asked to leave the campus and barracks immediately. Christian's father, Judge George L. Christian, appealed to the school's Board of Visitors, asking the Board to persuade the faculty to reverse its decision. The Board agreed to hold a hearing in December. Judge Christian presented a strong appeal, and the Virginia General Assembly appointed a joint committee of the house and senate to investigate the case.

The committee met on campus on July 23, 1906. Claiming that he had obtained new information, Judge Christian acknowledged that his son and the others had been guilty of hazing and therefore withdrew his request for an investigation of the matter. As rumors and allegations against the school had become so widespread, however, the committee had been instructed to "investigate any other matter at the college which may seem proper." The committee dropped the Christian case from its agenda but proceeded for the next six days to examine and review the university's faculty and administrative practices. In issuing its final report, the committee ultimately vindicated the college's administration.