Birmingham-Southern College will remain open after the school secured funding to continue operations, the school announced Thursday.
The entire college, not just the football program, was at risk of shutting down without the needed capital.
“Birmingham-Southern has been operating in financial distress for over a decade. Without support, it will not be able to continue to operate after May 2023,” Alabama Sen. Jabo Waggoner and Rep. Jim Carns, both Vestavia Hills Republicans, wrote in a letter to lawmakers back in December. “Without a commitment from the state, the college will need to notify high school students that it will no longer be accepting applications by the middle of January.”
But the B-SC Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Wednesday. The vote came after the board postponed a planned meeting to announced a verdict on the school's future. After postponing the meeting, the board then went into an 8-hour closed-door meeting.
“The Board is receiving encouraging information hour by hour that could have significant bearing on this pivotal decision,” the board said Wednesday.
On Thursday, the proverbial puff of white smoke was released.
“The Board of Trustees has made the informed and thoughtful decision to keep Birmingham-Southern open,” board chairman Rev. Keith D. Thompson announced. “We have been working closely with our allies in state and local government to secure bridge funding.”
“Thanks to their leadership, the Board felt comfortable with moving forward, and has charged President Daniel Coleman with preparing for a public fundraising campaign to restore the College’s endowment."
Birmingham-Southern sought $37.5 million in relief from the state government which, the school said, would be enough to keep the lights on as school leadership sought its own funding to continue educating students in perpetuity.
B-SC has been open since 1856 and typically educates 1,000 students at a time, though enrollment fell to 975 in the fall.
Birmingham-Southern played football from 1918 through 1938, then revived the program under head coach Joey Jones in 2007. The Panthers compete in the Division III Southern Athletic Association. B-SC went 7-3 under head coach Tony Joe White.
White accepted the head coaching position at Austin College (D-III - TX) in December; the school promoted offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Anthony Colucci as his replacement.
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