BaseballAmerica.com: College: Birmingham Southern Headed To Division III

Citing financial disappointments, the board of trustees at Birmingham-Southern College voted to drop its athletic program from NCAA Division I to Division III, affecting 193 athletes at the small liberal arts school.

The decision came after the school's first internal review since 1999, when the school began a transition from the NAIA to Division I. The current move will take four years, as Birmingham-Southern will compete in the Big South Conference in 2007, after which it will begin a gradual three-year transition to Division III.

No sport at Birmingham-Southern has been as successful as its baseball program, a team that won the Big South regular-season conference title in two of the three seasons in which it competed. Coach Brian Shoop is the school's all-time winningest coach with 656 wins, and has guided 64 consecutive seniors to graduate. In 2004, he led the program to an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament after regular season wins against Georgia, Mississippi State and Alabama.

"We were on our way to getting a really successful program," said David Horne, a senior righthander. "We were getting close to being able to win a regional."

Shoop was forced to tell the players the news shortly after a disappointing performance in the Big South tournament. "It was one of the saddest scenes I've ever seen," Shoop said. "Lots of tears, and a lot of heartache. They're hurt, they're disappointed."

The school has promised to honor all scholarships for the next two seasons, but also gave each athlete a blanket release, leaving each the option of transferring. According to sophomore lefthander Blake Martin, the club's best prospect after striking out 57 batters in 53 innings this year, the vast majority of the freshman and sophomore players will be leaving, including himself. Martin has already been in contact with at least four other schools.

"(Other programs) are like vultures on fresh meat," said Shoop, who does not believe he has ever had a scholarship player leave. "It's open season. Selfishly we'd love for them to stay, but in the end, they have to do what is best for themselves and their family."

The school understands the pain that the athletes feel, but insists that the decision was a matter of economics. "There is so much emotion on this issue, so much personal attachment," BSC president David Pollick said. "But this was a decision that came out of board questions tied to finance."

However, the baseball team never got the impression its fan base was not meeting expectations. "We never felt like we weren't supported," said Horne, the team's Saturday starter. "We had more support than other schools our size."

Pollick claims the numbers do not back that up. In 2006, the Panthers averaged 423 fans per home game. "Fan attendance has been limited, I think everyone accepts that," he said. "This is an institution that must not only think about the students that are here now, or the thousands of alumni, but the thousands of alumni to come. Our focus is on the ongoing health of this institution.

"The commitment to athletics will continue to be every bit as absolute as it was in Division I."

The school also announced a plan to spend $1.5 million to build a new football stadium, which will help gain its admittance into a Division III conference.

Baseball team members were surprised money was being spent on a sport the school previously had not offered. "It is another slap in the face," Horne said.

Next year the Panthers are set to open their baseball schedule against Georgia. David Horne is not optimistic about his school's chances. "That's assuming they can field a team."