The Panthers are in the NCAA D3 baseball tournament, playing Salve Regina this afternoon. Their school will cease operations while the team is on the field.
Birmingham-Southern College is a liberal arts school with a good college baseball team (32-14 this year). The team qualified for this year’s NCAA D-3 tournament and cruised through the Regionals and Super Regionals, winning all five games. Now the Panthers face their biggest challenge, seeing how far they can go in college baseball’s Big Dance.
But that’s only part of a bigger story. Founded in 1856 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church, BSC has struggled financially. Despite considerable effort, the financial burden could not be eased. The college will close, and today (May 31) is its last day of existence.
Official Statement from Birmingham-Southern College (Published, March 26, 2024): Following an 18-month effort to obtain bridge funding from a $30 million state loan program conceived and enacted to save the 168-year-old, nationally ranked liberal arts institution. The College Board of Trustees voted unanimously today to close the College after a 2024 bill designed to amend the 2023 legislation that established the loan program failed to win sufficient support in the Alabama House of Representatives. ‘This is a tragic day for the College, our students, our employees, and our alumni,” said Board Chair Rev. Keith D. Thompson’83. “But it is also a terrible day for Birmingham, the neighborhoods that have surrounded our campus for more than 100 years, and for Alabama. “Through this challenging year and a half, we have discussed BSC’s more than $90 million annual economic impact on Alabama, with $68 million of that right here in our city.’
The entire Birmingham community has rallied around this team. A local restaurant held a send-off party and a GoFundMe fundraiser to help the team and provide means to fly to Ohio for the Division III College World Series.
I wish the Panthers all the best! What a story it would be if BSC were to win the Division III College World Series. Talk about a legacy!
UPDATE: On Friday, May 31, BSC lost its opening game to Salve Regina in this double-elimination tournament and then beat Randolph Macon on Saturday to stay alive. On Sunday afternoon, June 2, the team faced Wisconsin-Whitewather in an advance-or-be-eliminated game. BSC was victorious against Randolph Mason via a walk-off homer. The team lost to Wisconsin-Whitewater similarly, ending BSC’s season.
This is such sad news for the BSC college. I didn’t know about this info at all. Thank you Matthew Paris for this good article and bringing this story out. As sad as it is, I did like it.