A Cautionary Tale From Alderson Broaddus
A Cautionary Tale From Alderson Broaddus
The demise of Alderson Broaddus University is something of a cautionary tale within American collegiate rugby.
The university, which is based in Philippi, WV, announced this month that it will be closing and has voluntarily resigned its accreditation. Financial troubles have plagued the school and in fact one report from WV Metro News says they owe almost $800,000 for water, sewer, and electrical and will be shut off. Meanwhile, a student and an employee have both filed suit claiming fraud, misrepresentation, breach of contract, and seeking punitive damages from the University, its Board of Trustees, and Governors Chair James Garvin (credit: WCHSTV).
What is almost comical if it weren't so sad it that Alderson Broaddus University's athletics site gleefully announced less than a month ago that the athletics teams would be playing with a new logo that will "mark an exciting new chapter for our sports programs."
That's the last piece of news from the Battlers' sports site, and, sadly, when you click on the athletics calendar you get this message: "No upcoming events currently available."
Alderson Broaddus was listed as a competing team in the Allegheny conference in NCR's Men's D2, but not listed in any NCR women's conference. The Battlers had been fielding men's and women's teams, but had struggled to build depth or event play 15s. Usually they played 7s.
So what is this all about? It's not about rugby, but it is about smaller universities trying to find a future, trying to get students in dorms, using the food services, and in classrooms. Sports is one way to attract students but offering scholarship kind of defeats the purpose. Any university (except for the ones with endowments in the billions) are looking for paying enrollment.
For high school rugby players, it is once again a reminder to do you due diligence. If you are recruited by a school you don't know, have a deeper look into why they've popped up on your radar. Sometimes it's because they are trying to build their student body with a long-term view. Sometimes they are using rugby to diversify their student body, and not to increase the student body. And sometimes it's because they're in financial straits and they hope a series of quick Hail Marys will fix everything.
Is mismanagement part of the problem at Alderson Broaddus? It's possible, and it's possible there were no red flags early on. But the University had millions in liabilities in 2022, so there were, eventually, warning signs.
It is a problem. Quiting the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "The shuttering of small, private colleges and universities is becoming increasingly common as these schools reckon with enrollment declines, a wavering economy and enduring pandemic issues. Since 2016, nearly 100 institutions across the United States have closed, merged or planned to do either. Northeast and Midwest states have been particularly impacted."
This includes Marlboro College (where this writer's oldest brother played rugby), Southern Vermont (which, once upon a time, had a paid rugby coach), and Lindenwood-Belleville (which had a varsity rugby program and paid coach before, and went graduate programs only in 2020). IUPUI, meanwhile, has lost the Purdue University part of its cumbersome title and will just be IUI—Indiana University Indianapolis. Their undergraduate enrollment, and their rugby team, will remain.
Meanwhile, colleges are descending on the Alderson Broaddus students left out in the cold with the alacrity of a hyena spotting an abandoned gazelle carcass. Hopefully the rugby players will find a home.
