Alderson Broaddus University, an NCAA Division II school located in Phillipi, WV is getting shut down – and it may be a benefit to some HBCUs.
An emergency meeting was called on Monday to address the “imminent material financial loss or other imminent substantial harm to the public entity, its employees, or the members of the public that it serves,” according to the meeting memo. “The rapidly deteriorating financial condition at Alderson Broaddus University may result in serious financial harm to students.”
This resulted in the school getting its authorization revoked, including an immediate ending to all athletic or extracurricular activities.
“While I truly wish there had been a viable path forward for Alderson Broaddus University to continue operating, our foremost priority is to help their students continue their education as seamlessly as possible,” Dr. Sarah Armstrong Tucker, West Virginia’s Chancellor of Higher Education said in a statement.
“We have been working with other colleges and universities in the state, and we are grateful to have institutions that are eager to help these students transfer and complete their degrees. The Commission takes its role in authorizing private institutions to operate within West Virginia very seriously. This is a role that the Legislature entrusted us with to safeguard students, and that is exactly what we are doing.”
While Alderson Broaddus University is not an HBCU, it does compete in the Mountain East Conference, which includes HBCU West Virginia State University. The two schools were scheduled to meet on Oct. 14.
Beyond the scheduling impacts, those student-athletes who were set to play football and other sports will most certainly be looking for other homes, which could benefit many HBCUs in NCAA Division II such as CIAA and SIAC or possibly even the MEAC. Bluefield State University, a third-year program making its return to the CIAA this year, is located in the same state.