3/30/25
In a sobering announcement that has reverberated throughout the Division III athletics community, Bryn Athyn College President Sean Connelly revealed on March 26th that the institution will discontinue all 11 of its NCAA Division III athletic programs, including men’s volleyball, as part of sweeping measures to address the college’s financial challenges.
The announcement came after what Connelly described as “months of deliberation and counsel” and a “comprehensive review” of the college’s financial position. The college’s cumulative operating deficit since 2007 has reached a staggering $48.7 million, with the institution currently facing what Connelly termed a “$3.4 million true deficit” that demands immediate action.
“This is a turning point, not an ending,” Connelly wrote in his letter to the college community, emphasizing that the decision was made to ensure the long-term sustainability of the 150-year-old institution.
The elimination of athletic programs accounts for 11 of the 20 full-time equivalent positions being cut across the college, affecting 29 individuals overall. According to Connelly, the financial burden of maintaining athletics had become untenable.
“According to benchmarking data from 69 DIII institutions without men’s football, athletic expenses should comprise roughly 3% of an institution’s budget,” Connelly explained. “Ours, conservatively, stand at 12% and climb as high as 21% when accounting for overhead. That places us at 400-700% of the national benchmark.”
NCAA Division III regulations presented the college with a binary choice: maintain a minimum of ten teams or none at all.
Among the programs affected is Bryn Athyn’s men’s volleyball team, which has been developing as part of the college’s Division III athletics offerings. The decision leaves players and coaches facing an uncertain future,
forced to make difficult decisions about their academic and athletic careers.
For men’s volleyball student-athletes, the timing is particularly challenging. With the spring season already underway, players now find themselves competing in what will be their final season representing the Lions. While the programs will continue through the end of the academic year, the announcement has undoubtedly cast a shadow over remaining competitions.
Players now face three main options: remain at Bryn Athyn without their sport, transfer to another institution to continue their volleyball careers, or conclude their competitive playing days.
The Lions have posted 9 wins so far this season and will face Cairn on Tuesday in their last regular season match. The match will have higher importance as the team could gain access to the United East Conference tournament with a win. There is literally no tomorrow for these players if they lose. Bryan Choute, Miles Shepard, and Owen Reuter lead the attack for the Lions, all are underclassman. The makeup of the team is 8 freshman, 3 sophomores, 1 junior and 1 senior.
Connelly indicated that athletics will not disappear entirely from campus. “A new model, robust, inclusive, and financially sustainable, will rise in the form of Club Sports,” the president stated, though specific details about which sports might continue in club form were not provided.
Notably, even the college’s storied club hockey program couldn’t escape the cuts. “I had hoped to preserve club hockey, given its storied legacy. But even stripped of overhead, its cost remains too high,” Connelly wrote, acknowledging the “grief this will bring especially considering the magnitude of hockey’s history in the college and in Bryn Athyn.”
The college’s decision aligns with a troubling trend in higher education, particularly among smaller institutions struggling with rising costs and demographic challenges. Bryn Athyn’s situation became especially dire when its endowment fell below $37 million in January 2025, triggering contingency plans established in 2013 that called for “immediate” implementation of downsizing when that threshold was crossed.
Connelly emphasized that the college’s academic core remains intact. “No instructional positions were eliminated. This was by design,” he wrote. “Our students deserve the depth, challenge, and inspiration that only this faculty can provide.”
The president concluded his message with a call for unity in facing these challenging circumstances: “These are difficult days, but they can also be defining ones. I ask you to join me not only in acknowledging the gravity of this moment but in reimagining the possibilities that lie ahead.”
For the student-athletes who came to Bryn Athyn to pursue both academic and athletic passions, however, that reimagining now involves difficult personal decisions about their educational futures and athletic careers.
As one small college makes these painful cuts to secure its future, the ripple effects will be felt most acutely by the student-athletes and coaches who dedicated themselves to representing Bryn Athyn on the court, field, and ice, including the men’s volleyball team, whose players must now serve and set their sights on new horizons.