Goodman: Can Birmingham-Southern still be saved? (2024)

This is an opinion column.

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I wanted to ask Birmingham-Southern coach Jan Weisberg a crazy question before the Division III Baseball World Series began.

Could Birmingham-Southern still be saved now that it is gaining national publicity through its baseball team? What would it take? Is it even possible?

Those questions are being asked by alums and fans of the baseball team who are following its dramatic story. Birmingham-Southern officially closes on Friday as its baseball team begins an unlikely run to the D-III Baseball World Series. BSC’s first game is at 3:45 p.m. CT at Classic Park in Eastlake, Ohio, against Salve Regina University.

Birmingham-Southern College has always been a phenomenal school, and one of the best institutions of higher learning in the Southeast. Losing BSC is a major blow for Birmingham. There’s no way around that. The liberal arts college, founded over 160 years ago, is closing due to financial trouble. There was hope earlier in the year that BSC could be saved, but Alabama state politics scuttled a plan that would have bailed out the school for $30 million.

But does a light of hope still shine?

Birmingham-Southern has become the feel-good story of the summer in sports. The Panthers have been dubbed America’s Team. The run by the baseball team has given alums something to be proud of in the school’s final hours, and the purity of sport represented by the baseball team’s circ*mstances speak to something universally cherished.

Birmingham-Southern is playing for each other, playing for the love of the game and playing like there’s no tomorrow.

The Panthers are going down swinging.

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It’s such a great story that a top-rate film crew is now shadowing the team and making a documentary. The executive producer told me on Thursday that major streaming services are interested in buying the project whether Birmingham-Southern wins the World Series or not.

I asked Weisberg my crazy question on Thursday during the team’s batting practice session at Lakeland Community College. It’s right down the road from Classic Park here in Northwest Ohio. Weisberg said he has thought about that same question. It would take a miracle, and, at this point, probably a complete reimagining of the school.

“I thought maybe,” Wesiberg said, “but I think we’re so far down that road now. I think the only, if you want to call it a miracle, I think the only miracle that could be able to happen is someone falling in love with that story so much, or falling in love and realizing how special [Birmingham-Southern] is — that it’s a huge investment where they can almost do a restart. You know, like a lot more than the $30 million we’re asking from the state.

“It’s not that [amount]. If we get that money now … that ship has already sailed because, you know, how do you recruit students? Unless we’re good for forever. It would take — and I’m not saying it’s going to happen — but if Elon Musk said, ‘Oh, yeah, let’s start a STEM school there.’ Something like that.

“And it is ... somebody like that, or some foundation, or some group of people ... it is a very attractive, beautiful campus. It’s got everything there. It’s one of the most beautiful small college campuses you have.”

It’s never too late to dream. That’s the promise of sports, and that’s the energy fueling this run by Birmingham-Southern.

Weisberg deserves special attention before his last week on the job for Birmingham-Southern. His final paycheck comes on June 10. It’s no accident that the Birmingham-Southern baseball team is in this position to inspire so many people with its story. Wesiberg is an incredible coach, and has been for a long time. He coached in the SEC for 13 years, but fell in love with the culture at Birmingham-Southern and has been there for 17 years.

He lives on campus, too, and finds himself in a difficult spot financially now that Birmingham-Southern is closing. Weisberg owns his house on campus, but the land is owned by the college. It’s a weird arrangement. He pays the school $1 a year to lease the land. Historically, BSC had a deal with faculty and staff who lived on campus. The school would buy back the residential houses at market value if the residents wanted to move or got jobs elsewhere.

Weisberg says BSC recently told him they are no longer in position to buy back his house. Now he might be stuck with the house until creditors figure out what to do with it. His life savings are tied up in the home. It’s a terrible situation.

Under that stress factor, Weisberg is somehow holding it together for his team. Those close to him tell me that he puts on a great face for the public and his players, but the weight of that situation would be tough for anyone.

I haven’t been around him long, but Weisberg’s positive energy and laid-back vibe is inspiring. He’s a gem of a coach and an ultimate pro, thinking always of every detail and with 110 percent of every day focused on making his team better.

During regionals of the NCAA tournament, Weisberg went out and purchased over $3,000 in turf cleats for the team while in Lexington, Ky. There was a misunderstanding with the host ballpark and Birmingham-Southern wasn’t allowed to wear their baseball spikes onto the field.

In the super regionals, Weisberg never blinked when nine players on his team came down with a norovirus and required IVs before and during its second game of the series against Denison University. His coaching style reminds me of Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat or retired coach Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks and USC Trojans. What I mean by that is he’s really good at putting his team at ease and allowing them to play carefree despite navigating a complicated season.

Weisberg’s final message to the team before the World Series was brilliant, too. He is managing this situation and this postseason like a Hall of Famer.

“Anytime you make it to a World Series you want it so bad that you don’t relax and play like you can play,” Weisberg said. “I certainly didn’t want the weight — because they see all the alums that are coming — I just want to take that weight off.

“Like, the alums don’t need you to win this. I told the team that finishing strong already took care of the alums. And you’ve already put such a bright light on this campus at such a bad time, and we already are guaranteed to be the last light shining.

“We’re the last light to go out. Go win it for you. You’ve been doing so much and carrying the load for others. Now it’s like, go win it for you. And I hope they can.”

Suddenly, so do a growing legion of dreamers from across the country.

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Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the most controversial sports book ever written, “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”