Finances Force Savannah State University to Drop Out of the NCAA’s Division I

Savannah State University, the historically Black educational institution in Georgia, has made the decision to leave Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and transfer down to Division II status. The decision will also force the university to end its membership in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The decision will reduce the number of football scholarships that can be offered at Savannah State from 63 to 36.

Cheryl D. Dozier, president of Savannah State University, issued a statement that read in part: “While I am extremely proud of the progress our athletes and coaches have made at the Division I Level, it is not financially feasible for us to continue.”

Savannah State has been operating with an athletics budget of just over $5 million. The typical college or university in the Football Championship Subdivision of the NCAA’s Division I has an athletic budget of $10 million. The university currently fields six men’s teams and eight women’s teams.

The university stated that “this decision was made after months of discussion and deliberation in an effort to put SSU’s athletics programs in the best position fiscally, academically and athletically. This move allows SSU athletics to remain in competition and carry on their traditions.”

Savannah State had made the decision to move from Division II to Division I athletics in 1998 and competed in Division I for the first time in 2002.

Related Articles

1 COMMENT

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Gerald McWorter Donates Archival Materials to the University of Illinois

Dr. McWorter - also known as Abdul Alkalimat - has donated a collection of his papers to the archives at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he is a professor emeritus of African American studies. The donation includes materials on the history of the Black studies field and the civil rights movement, as well as personal family records.

Grinnell College Dedicates Building in Honor of First Black Alumna Edith Renfrow Smith

Renfrow Smith, who recently celebrated her 110th birthday, is Grinnell College's first Black alumna and oldest living alum. The newly established Renfrow Hall will serve as a space for the college and local community to collaborate on civic engagement projects.

In Memoriam: Edward Cox, 1943-2024

Dr. Cox was a professor of history at Rice University for nearly three decades. He was a member of Rice's Task Force on Slavery, Segregation, and Racial Injustice, an advisor for the Black Student Association, and founding director of the Mellon Undergraduate Fellowship program

Black Junior Professors Receive Unfair Decisions When Seeking Promotions and Tenure

A new study led by the University of Houston has found Black and Hispanic junior faculty members are more likely to receive negative votes and less likely to receive unanimous approvals from their promotion committees. They are also judged more harshly for their academic output compared to peers with similar productivity.

Featured Jobs