Wesley athletics file photo

Wesley, the only NCAA Division III school in the state of Delaware and a nationally known program in Division III football, will be acquired by the other school in Dover, Delaware State University. That's according to an announcement in Dover on July 9.

Delaware State, a historically black university, has athletics in NCAA Division I and competes in football at the FCS level. This is the first time an HBCU has acquired non-HBCU institution.

"For at least the next year we will be governed and operated as we have been in the past," Wesley president Bob Clark said in a letter to alumni. This is key, because Wesley has been financially stressed for some time, and needed assistance from the state in order to remain open long enough to be acquired. A previous floated acqusition by St. Leo's in Florida fell through as the spread of the coronavirus began.

Delaware State University will now need to secure private and/or government funding resources outside of its normal operating revenue to manage this acquisition. No revenue in DSU's current budget can be used to support the transaction, according to the university's release.

The acquisition still requires approval from the U.S. Department of Education and accrediting bodies. That approval is expected to take about a year.

"Substantively there will be no change in this transition year," for Wesley College, said Delaware State president Tony Allen, including athletics.