(CBS-DETROIT) – Concordia University has announced that all athletics programs on its Ann Arbor campus will be discontinued after the 2024-2025 school year.
This comes after Lutheran University announced in March that it would remain open despite major financial problems. The school said it was losing money even though enrollment had increased.
Following uncertainty about the school’s fate and discussions about its closure, Concordia announced that the school would remain open through 2025. However, after hearing about the financial challenges, students feared it would affect athletics.
Now the university has announced that all sports will be suspended after the upcoming school year.
“Initially, our leadership team hoped to retain as many athletics programs as possible beyond the 2024-2025 academic year,” Concordia President Erik Ankerberg said in a news release. “However, upon further analysis of our financial model, it became clear that continuing these programs in Ann Arbor beyond the coming year is not feasible.”
Ankerberg said this does not reflect on the coaches and athletic staff, and university officials met with the athletic director to discuss the decision.
“Our athletic programs, especially under the leadership of Lonnie Pries, have played an integral role in the transformation of thousands of men and women,” Ankerberg said. “Being a Concordia Cardinal wasn’t just about achieving victories in the athletic arena. It was about helping develop men and women in mind, body and spirit for service to Christ in the Church and the world; it was about building champions of character. While CUAA athletics are coming to an end, the Cardinal legacy lives on.”
Concordia is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference and sponsors 28 varsity sports.
More information about the athletics programs will be provided after an Academic Council meeting on June 19. The university will also post updates online.
