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| Eureka athletics photo |
MacMurray College announced on Friday, March 27, that it will cease institutional operations following the completion of the 2019-20 academic year.
A decision to end operations at MacMurray came Friday afternoon citing no viable financial path forward amid declining enrollments, rising competitive costs and a small endowment.
Board of Trustees Chair Charles O'Connell said that despite the generosity of alumni giving and after extensive analysis and consideration, the Board determined MacMurray had no viable financial path forward amid declining enrollments, rising competitive costs and a small endowment. O'Connell expressed deep thanks and the full support of the board to MacMurray president Beverly Rodgers for her stewardship since being appointed to the position in 2019.
The coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic disruption were recent factors that complicated MacMurray's financial condition, but they are not the principal reasons for the board's decision to close, according to O'Connell. In December, the school was saying that it needed to raise $2 million to make up for a shortfall in funding.
The school had just 537 full-time students as of its most recent filing with the U.S. Department of Education. Arrangements have been made for students to easily transfer to Eureka and Greenville, along with Blackburn, Illinois College, McKendree, Millikin and Monmouth.
It is the seventh member of NCAA Division III to close its doors in the past two-plus years, joining Daniel Webster, Mount Ida, Newbury, Southern Vermont and Wheelock, all in New England, and New Rochelle in suburban New York City.
MacMurray is a member of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, as well as an associate member for football of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
“We recognize that the landscape of higher education is continually evolving and presenting institutions with a variety of challenges related to fiscal stability,” said UMAC Commissioner Corey Borchardt. “UMAC members empathize with MacMurray’s Board of Trustees and campus leadership as the institution chose to make a difficult decision during this unprecedented chapter in intercollegiate athletics.”
Remaining conference football members are engaging in contingency plans for the 2020 football season and will begin the process of developing updated future schedules immediately.
MacMurray joined the UMAC as an associate football-only member in 2009 along with three other institutions, helping the conference obtain an NCAA tournament automatic qualifying bid in 2011. The Highlanders finished in the top three of the UMAC standings in each of the last four seasons including back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2018.
“The UMAC appreciates that MacMurray was able to be a contributing and successful associate member over the last 11 seasons,” said Borchardt. “We wish the best for all of the institution’s coaches, staff and student-athletes as they move forward during this difficult time.”