Paine College Suspends Football Program for 2 Years

Paine College announced Saturday that it is suspending its football program, which its board voted in 2012 to revive. The team played its first season in 2014. A statement from the college noted the financial and accrediting problems facing the historically black college. “At this critical juncture in the history of Paine College, we have no choice but to firmly reestablish the financial health of our college," said a statement from Samuel Sullivan, the interim president “It is only through achieving this condition that we will have a chance of being removed from probation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and winning reaffirmation of the college’s accreditation. We must take this and other steps to reduce overall expenditures by the college and increase our net assets. After removal of all sanctions imposed upon the college by SACSCOC, we will conduct a cost benefit analysis and evaluate the return of our football program.”