The Birmingham-Southern baseball team is currently dominating the Division III College World Series, much to the surprise of everyone. Despite being the No. 7 seed, they have made it to this level and are set to face off against No. 2 Salve Regina in their next game. However, this success is bittersweet as Birmingham-Southern College is closing permanently due to financial struggles.
Coach Jan Weisberg and his team have garnered national attention with ESPN’s “SportsCenter” featuring an interview with Coach Weisberg. A documentary crew has been following the Panthers since the super regional, capturing their journey to the College World Series.
The team’s practices have become a spectacle, with equipment and cameras covering the field. In addition, fans have rallied behind them during this uncertain time. A GoFundMe account has raised over $100,000 to support the Panthers during their College World Series run. Any remaining funds will go towards travel expenses and championship rings, with the coaching staff also benefiting from the donations.
However, despite their great performance on the field, Birmingham-Southern still faces additional challenges such as a norovirus outbreak during the super regional which affected some players but they managed to sweep Denison and advance to the next round.
Despite a poor record before learning of school closure, Birmingham-Southern had turned things around and earned an at-large bid to the national tournament. Their inspiring story will continue on Friday as they face Salve Regina at 4:45 p.m. ET.
Birmingham-Southern’s spring sports season has been nothing short of remarkable so far, but unfortunately for them it may be their last season at college due to financial struggles that led school closure announcement.
