Despite their best efforts to keep the school open, Birmingham Southern announced back in March that the school will be closing their doors for good come May 31st, and bringing an end to their 20 sports programs.
That announcement came right in the middle of the program's baseball season, and the news (understandably) sent shockwaves through the team's program, who were off to a hot start.
The Panthers were home to one of small college baseball's winningest programs for a stretch dating back to 2010, and the staff found themselves in the unenviable position of getting a group of guys focused on playing their best ball while staring an an uncertain future.
How did head coach Jan Weisberg, who has led the program since 2006, and his staff handle the unique hand they were dealt?
“We sat the guys down and talked about things, about living in uncertainty of where they’d be next year and the sadness of losing something they love,” Weisberg told d3baseball.com last week.
“We simply told them their job was just to finish. And, by finishing, it doesn’t mean we have to win a national championship — we can’t put that weight on our shoulders. We just want to do things the right way like we’ve always done them. We want to play the game the right way and play it hard.
“In the past, we’ve talked about passing that work ethic onto the next guy after the season is over. Now, our job is to close up the shop and do it the right way.”
After an understandable stumble after the news was dropped, the team was able to regain their focus and finished strong earning an at-large ticket to the Division III NCAA tournament after a 26-14 finish, and have found their footing again and have been making the most of it.
This weekend, after beating Transy in a 5-2 game, they earned a berth in their respective Super Regional, bringing them one step closer to winning it all.
The Championship Finals are set to take place from May 31 - June 7, and at that point the tournament becomes an eight-team, double elimination bracket with a best of three series in the finals.
If that May 31st date sounds familiar, it's because that's the date we mentioned Birmingham Southern is shutting their doors.
So if Weisberg and the Panthers are able to stay hot and win a few more games, it's very possible that they find themselves playing May 31st and beyond for an opportunity to bring home a national championship...to a school that no longer exists.
How absolutely wild would that be?
Credit to Weisberg, the BSC players, and the staff for finding a way to focus during a really challenging time for the entire campus community. Would be really cool to see them bring a trophy back to campus.