Back in July, facing financial difficulties, Wesley University (D-III - DE) was officially bought by nearby Delaware State University. The two schools are located less than two miles apart so the acquisition made sense on a number of levels.
While that lifeline certainly seemed like a good thing at the time, there's reportedly some unfortunate news incoming.
According to a report this afternoon from D3Football.com, Delaware State is making the decision to shut down all Division III athletic programs at Wesley at the end of the 2021 spring season.
Delaware State is an HBCU program that plays football at the FCS level. The report adds that Wesley was hoping to operate in a similar way to Fairleigh Dickinson, who have two campuses about 30 miles apart in New Jersey- a Division I campus in Teaneck and a Division III campus in Madison. But the latest news sounds like that is not in the cards.
The news comes after Wesley has established themselves as one of the elite programs in college football, and perhaps the top on the east coast. Wesley ended the 2019 season with a 10-2 mark and ranked 11th in the country.
The program, which played in the semifinals six times from 2005-14, held an impressive streak of 13 seasons where they won at least one playoff game.
Tragedy struck the program in May of 2018 when Mike Drass, the program's longtime head coach, passed away suddenly. Drass also served as the schools athletic director.
While the circumstances are unique, Wesley is just the latest among a handful of small college programs to shut down athletics.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.