About this property
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. 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. 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. 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. 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 2007–08 to 2011–12; in the Big South Conference within NCAA Division I from 2001–02 to 2006–07; and in the TranSouth Athletic Conference (TranSouth or TSAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1996–97 to 2000–01.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Birmingham-Southern College
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Questions about this property
When was Birmingham-Southern College listed on the National Register?
Birmingham-Southern College was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 21, 1999.
What type of historic resource is Birmingham-Southern College?
Birmingham-Southern College is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Birmingham-Southern College?
The period of significance for Birmingham-Southern College is recorded as the early_republic era, specifically around 1856.
Can I research the history near Birmingham-Southern College?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Birmingham-Southern College will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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