Birmingham-Southern Heads to World Series as College Closes

Birmingham-Southern College, a private liberal arts college in Alabama, will close on May 31, but that hasn’t stopped its baseball team from advancing in the DIII College World Series.

The Panthers will play May 31 in the World Series in Eastlake, Ohio, after defeating Denison University, 7-6, Saturday. Birmingham-Southern was created through a merger of Southern University and Birmingham College in 1918. It has 1,283 students and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.

Like many small, private colleges across America, Birmingham-Southern has recently experienced financial challenges, including higher operating costs and lower revenues. Those problems were exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic—when colleges lost anticipated revenue from dormitory housing and meal plans—and continue as inflation remains problematic in the country. 

Birmingham-Southern attempted to get a $30 million loan from the state, but that effort failed. Alabama treasurer Young Boozer III concluded taxpayer money shouldn’t be used to “rescue” a private college. He blamed the school’s management and board of trustees for its financial woes. In March the school’s board of trustees voted to close. 

A GoFundMe page to help pay for the baseball team’s travel expenses has been set up and as of mid-afternoon Sunday had raised over $59,000. The fund would also pay for championship rings.

Colleges face more turbulent waters ahead as the so-called “enrollment cliff” is set to hit colleges in 2025 and last until 2037. It will feature a drop in the college-age population, a trend brought on by lower birth rates during the Great Recession. Colleges will compete over a smaller pool of applicants, meaning some colleges will see smaller enrollments. Colleges will likely also need to offer higher discount rates on tuition to attract students sought by other colleges, which will also result in less revenue. Colleges, of course, also face the likely prospect of paying their athletes actual or de facto wages, revenue shares and other benefits.

As some private colleges experience financial troubles during the enrollment cliff and as the prospect of paying athletes becomes real, expect to see schools lobby for public assistance from their states.