Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, a historically Black educational institution that has been experiencing financial difficulties due to a sharp decline in enrollments in recent years, announced that it will no longer participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division II. The university will also drop its affiliation with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.
Last December, the university announced that it would suspend all operations of the football program until the university was on more sound financial footing. Men’s and women’s basketball teams and the women’s volleyball team will operate as independent teams for the 2018-19 academic year.
Aaron A. Walton, president of Cheyney University, said in a statement that “these are extremely difficult but necessary decisions that are being made on behalf of our entire student population, and to help ensure the university’s future. These changes are essential if the university is to achieve financial sustainability.”
