Birmingham Southern College has long been a national powerhouse in the lower levels of college baseball. Having won an NAIA National Title in the early 2000s and several DIII regional titles, the Panthers also finished as the 2019 DIII runner-up. Now, they face extinction as their school is set to permanently shut down as of May 31st.
After having substantial financial difficulties and unable to secure state funding, Birmingham Southern College is permanently closing its doors on May 31, 2024. Founded in 1918 after a merger between Southern University and Birmingham College, Birmingham Southern was hoping for assistance from the Alabama legislature. Now, they are awaiting their closure.
However, they still have hope for an NCAA Division III National Championship in Baseball. In an odd turn of events, Birmingham Southern’s baseball program could be playing baseball even after the school has permanently shut down.
I bet you’ve never seen this before.
BSC Baseball Playing For Closed School
It is entirely possible Birmingham Southern could be playing for a school that no longer exists. If they were to win their Super Regional matchup next weekend, the Panthers would move on to the College World Series. The dates of the CWS would extend past the May 31st closure of the Birmingham Southern campus.
New legislation was brought forth earlier this year to give the college a loan to stay open. However, there was ultimately not enough support to keep the legislation or the school alive past this academic year.
“This is a great loss not only for the Birmingham community but for the entire state of Alabama.” Rep. Terri A. Sewell said in a statement. “While no one had hoped for this outcome, the failure of state leaders to do their part and provide assistance to BSC is particularly disappointing.”
Notable Birmingham Southern Alumni include country music singer Walker Hayes, actor Glenn Shadix, MLB players Bruce Maxwell and Connor Robertson, retired lieutenant general Reynold N. Hoover, and jazz musician Ray Reach.
Birmingham Southern’s DIII Title Prospects
After going 27-14 in the regular season, Birmingham Southern College defeated Transylvania University on Sunday afternoon to advance to the DIII Super Regionals. The three seed in the regional, BSC upset number one seed Spalding on Saturday to advance to the Sunday game against Transylvania.
The Birmingham Southern Panthers will move on to face Denison next weekend in Grandville, Ohio with a trip to the DIII College World Series on the line. Denison finished the regular season 39-6 and is the overall national number two seed in the NCAA Tournament.
As a lower seed, it is always more unlikely to continue to advance, but that’s the great thing about baseball. The higher seeds don’t always win. Take D1 baseball for example. The number one overall national seed has not won the national championship since Miami in 1999. Ole Miss barely squeaked into the NCAA Tournament three seasons ago and went on a heater to win the College World Series. I for one am rooting for the Panthers to do the unthinkable and give the defunct school something positive as they close their doors.
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