Birmingham–Southern College (BSC) was a private liberal arts college in Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 1856, the college was affiliated with the United Methodist Church and was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The college's student body was approximately 975 students when it closed at the end of the 2023–24 school year after years of financial trouble.
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History
Birmingham–Southern College was the result of a 1918 merger of Southern University, founded in Greensboro, Alabama in 1856, with Birmingham College, opened in 1898 in Birmingham, Alabama. These two institutions were consolidated on May 30, 1918, under the name of Birmingham–Southern College. Phi Beta Kappa recognized Birmingham–Southern in 1937, establishing the Alabama Beta chapter.
In the 21st century, the school suffered from financial troubles, due to errors in accounting and dwindling enrollment. Although the school explored many avenues to keep the school open, including seeking assistance from the Alabama legislature, the school's board of trustees voted to close the college at the end of the 2023–24 school year, May 31, 2024.
Analex Laboratories, funded through the De Hoffmann Foundation and Endowment, who had begun operating on the campus beginning in 2016, largely took over most of the facilities, besides those related to athletics, by the College's closure
Academics
The college offered five bachelor's degrees in more than 50 programs of study, as well as interdisciplinary and individualized majors and dual-degree programs.
Campus
The campus was situated on 192 wooded acres three miles west of downtown Birmingham. The college had 45 academic, residential, administrative, and athletics buildings/facilities. The campus has been for sale since spring 2024. In September 2024, BSC entered into an agreement to sell the campus to Miles College, but after repeated extensions, BSC ended that agreement in November 2024.
The campus was sold to the Department of Homeland Security for $126.5 million to become the Enlisted Training Center of Excellence for the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard Training Center Birmingham-Southern opened on June 5, 2026. The Coast Guard promises to continue to honor the name and traditions - including logos and mascots at the campus.
Athletics
The Birmingham–Southern athletic teams were called the Panthers. The college was part of Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) since the 2012–13 academic year. The Panthers previously competed in the D-III Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) from 2006–07 to 2011–12; in the Big South Conference within NCAA Division I from 2001–02 to 2005–06; and in the TranSouth Athletic Conference (TranSouth or TSAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1996–97 to 2000–01.
Birmingham–Southern competed in 22 intercollegiate varsity sports: men's sports included baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis and track & field (indoor and outdoor); while women's sports included basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field and volleyball.
The baseball team was 13–10 in the middle of the 2024 season prior to the announcement of closure at the end of the season. They proceeded to go 19–4 and win the super regionals of the 2024 NCAA tournament to advance as one of the final eight teams in the NCAA Division III World Series; the series started on May 31, the day of the closure of the school.
Notable alumni
William Acker – United States district judge
Robert Aderholt – United States congressman from Alabama (1997–present)
Tyner Rushing — actress
Laurie C. Battle – United States congressman from Alabama (1947–1955)
Amanda Bearse – actress, best known for her role as Marcy on the television sitcom Married... with Children.
Richmond C. Beatty (BA 1926) – academic, biographer and critic
Harvie Branscomb – Chancellor, Vanderbilt University (1946–1963)
Lewis C. Branscomb (1865–1930) – Methodist minister
Charles Brooks – Editorial cartoonist
Pat Buttram – Actor (sidekick of Gene Autry in films, and Mr. Haney in the TV series Green Acres)
Miles Copeland III – Music and entertainment executive, former manager of The Police and cofounder of I.R.S. Records
Howard Cruse – Cartoonist
Charles Gaines – Author, journalist, screenwriter, editor; Cine Gold Eagle Awards, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy Award
Alexander Gelman – Theatre Director, Organic Theater Company, Chicago
Randall Goodgame – Christian singer/songwriter