BSC to join D-III, add football
Birmingham-Southern College is leaving Division I to join Division
III and will add football. In a Friday afternoon news conference,
Board of Trustees chair Jim Stephens said the board has instructed
the president and administration to apply for reclassification to
Division III.
"The board has a legal responsibility to examine all of the
college's programs to determine mission fit and financial impact on
the institution," said Stephens. "Obviously one of the things you
consider in such a study after seven years is if Division I is
indeed the right fit for an institution of our size, of our
academic mission and quality, and of our financial resources.
"The financial performance of our intercollegiate athletics program
is substantially below the expectations set when the board approved
the move to NCAA Division I."
"We had no interest in looking at Division II," president David
Pollick told D3football.com. "We're looking at that which
complements our academic profile and we believe that amateur
athletics is where institutions ought to be finding themselves."
More of the discussion is available in our Q&A with
Birmingham-Southern president David Pollick.
A timeline for adding football was not announced. However, $1.5
million was announced as the funding for a stadium, which would be
built on land the school already owns. The timeline is dependent on
conference membership, according to Pollick.
The school will pursue membership in the Southern Collegiate
Athletic Conference. The conference presidents meet next week and
could consider an application at that time.
The school was first reported to be considering the move earlier in
May. More information and coverage is available on the
D3hoops.com Daily Dose, our Division III basketball blog.
Birmingham-Southern has 1,381 full-time undergraduates. Pollick is
the former president at Division III Lebanon Valley.
