Closure of Alderson Broaddus affects a number of athletes with WPIAL ties

Rumors swirled around campus. The whispers were brooding.

But was there any validity to it all?

On Monday, student-athletes at Alderson Broaddus found out there indeed was. It was all true.

Alderson Broaddus, the private Baptist university in Phillippi, W.Va., is preparing to shut down because of financial difficulties. As a result, all of its athletics programs will cease to exist.

The stunning development affects a number of local athletes who had called the Division II school home.

Some are caught in the sudden throes of change, their futures on hold and in transition.

Paul Rice, who just completed his junior year on the baseball team, was not prepared for the announcement that he no longer has a team to play for.

“I was a little shocked,” said Rice, a Greensburg Central Catholic alum and catcher. “I had thought I had at least one more year left there before they would close. I was sad to leave my roommates and teammates. After living with the same people for three years, you feel more like brothers than friends, and to not get to share this fourth year with them really hurts.”

Sixteen athletes with WPIAL ties were eligible to return to their teams in the fall.

“My first reaction was that I was extremely sad about losing my team and all the great friendships I had,” said softball player Kamaria Kelly, a Franklin Regional alum who will be a junior. “I am currently looking for a new school to attend that is closer to home.”

The crux of the issue at Alderson Broaddus was that the institution’s financial liabilities outweigh its ability to sustain business.

The state’s Higher Education Policy Commission revoked Alderson Broaddus’s ability to award degrees, forcing the school to prepare for a closure.

For some, the next move is the NCAA transfer portal, which provides a true safety net for just this kind of situation.

Alderson Broaddus students who graduate by Dec. 31, after the fall term, can complete their degrees as planned.

Graduating seniors have the option to play a fifth season because of the covid pandemic. Staying at Alderson Broaddus is no longer an option for that fifth year.

Rice will canvass the college landscape to see what opportunity might exist.

“Everything happens for a reason, and I trust in God that he has a plan for me and for them,” said Rice, a double-major who plans to go to law school. “As of right now, I’m not sure where I’m going. I’ve had some interest from some different schools across the D-III, D-II and NAIA levels, but now I just have to find the best fit for me to be able to finish my degree and master’s program somewhere new.”

Some athletes already completed five years in sports, exhausting the pandemic extension. That doesn’t make them any less empathetic to those who have most of their athletic career left.

“I heard some spreading of rumors but took each with a grain of salt and didn’t pay much attention to it,” said Meadow Uncapher, another softball player who just finished her senior year.

“I was taken aback, especially since at commencement they announced an interim president for the university so it seemed like the rumors were not true and everything was OK with the university. I am very saddened for the students that now have to find a new university to attend with very little time before the semester begins.”

Uncapher, a Mt. Pleasant grad who transferred from St. Francis (Pa.), was a pitcher and infielder for the Battlers, for whom she played two seasons.

“I know how hard it can be finding another place to call home, and a good fit,” Uncapher said. “But, unlike the students now, I made the decision to transfer so I can not even imagine what they are going through. I am still proud to be an Alderson Broaddus alumna regardless of their future. The professors, coaches and other students I encountered in my time there made it all worth it and are great people.

“I will never regret my decision going there even knowing their outcome now. I just pray for every student that is there now is as lucky as I was to find another university that they fit just as well if not better in.”

Norwin product Hailee Culbertson is another recent Alderson Broaddus grad who is done playing softball. She is set to begin veterinarian school in the fall at Iowa State. The shutdown made Culbertson cringe.

“I feel horrible for the students and faculty who were supposed to return this year,” she said. “This decision was a long time coming. There had been rumors circulating all year regarding AB’s financial state, and most of us were worried it would close in the middle of last year. Looking at the facts, it seemed pretty obvious that this would be the result, and I really wish officials would have made the decision with a reasonable amount of time for students to transfer.

“With just three weeks until the beginning of the fall semester, and only a few days until some sports teams were scheduled to move back in, everyone has been hung out to dry.”

Culbertson said a number of athletes transferred well before the ball dropped this week.

“Many transferred due to issues with some coaches and unsupportive athletic personnel,” she said. “New athletes were deterred from committing for those reasons, combined with the poor performance of some of the teams. The faculty and those students who stuck it out did not deserve to have the carpet yanked out from under them like this, and I truly hope they can find a new home elsewhere.

“I knew this would happen eventually, but it still seems so surreal. It’s hard to believe the place I spent the last four years at is ultimately gone, and my heart hurts for my friends, teammates, and all the amazing professors and coaches who are left to face the consequences.”

The closure also affects the incoming freshmen class. Kaitlyn Molitoris, for example, an incoming freshman softball player from Montour, signed to play at Alderson Broaddus.

Molitoris is an all-state pitcher who led the Spartans to the WPIAL and PIAA championship games.

WPIAL athletes at Alderson Broaddus last year (name, year, sport, high school):

Joey Alcorn, Jr., baseball, South Fayette

Jenna Boneysteele, So., softball, Chartiers Valley

Ethan Codeluppi, Jr., sprint football, Charleroi

Hailee Culbertson, Sr., softball, Norwin

Owen Farrier, Fr., sprint football, Waynesburg

Chase Foskey, Fr., football, North Hills

Curtis Foskey, Fr., football, North Hills

Gabby Guldin, Jr., cheerleading, Norwin

Shaun Kellermann, So., baseball, McKeesport

Kamaria Kelly, So. softball, Franklin Regional

Cleo McMahan, Jr., softball, Indiana

Chad Miller, Jr., sprint football, Yough

Zach Pies, Fr., baseball, Montour

Nate Piontka, Sr., baseball, Serra Catholic

Paul Rice, Jr., baseball, Greensburg Central Catholic

Ronnie Robinson, Jr., sprint football, Southmoreland

Bri Sersevic, So., softball, Elizabeth Forward

Carissa Sullinger, So., soccer, South Allegheny

Meadow Uncapher, Sr., softball, Mt. Pleasant

Chris Underwood, Fr., football, Clairton

Breanna Warner, So., basketball, Hopewell