Universities participating in the USDA rural loan program also have a high percentage of athletes
Nearly two-thirds of four-year schools in the loan program exceed 44% athletes
The news from the past week that Limestone University, an NCAA Division II school in South Carolina, was in desperate financial straits and may need to close was sad. Unfortunately, many believe still more schools will be forced into this decision.
Limestone has been a Division II men’s lacrosse power, playing in five of the last 10 national championships dating back to 2014, winning three. In this way, the Saints are not too dissimilar to Division III Cabrini University, which won the 2018 men’s lacrosse national championship, but ceased operations at the end of last season. Limestone has also experienced success in many other sports, garnering individual national championships in wrestling and swimming as well.
It wasn’t until I read Alissa Gary and David Jesse’s April 17, 2025 article in the Chronicle of Higher Education that I connected a couple of dots. In April 2024, Jesse published an insightful, investigative look into small, rural universities which had received loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The article, titled “The $2.2-Billion Bet,” highlighted a loan program known as the ‘Community Facilities Direct Loan Program.’ The program was designed to, according to Jesse’s reporting, “encourage new capital investment in rural areas, including on campuses.”
As Jesse wrote in 2024, the program “lent rural colleges and universities $2.2 billion across the last decade to build student centers, libraries, dorms, and academic centers — at lower interest rates than those offered by private lenders. In practice, the program has become a lender of last resort for some financially strapped colleges for whom new construction promises dubious benefits.”
The most alarming conclusion from Jesse’s report, however, might have been this:
“Despite the cheery words at groundbreakings, a Chronicle investigation — based on dozens of interviews and an analysis of data obtained through open-records requests — has found that the program, while often delivering a temporary positive bump to a campus and its balance sheet, can threaten the colleges’ long-term survival by loading them up with new debt and not delivering enrollment increases.”
The Chronicle’s research identified 67 four-year schools that took at least one loan from the program. Also identified was the “University of Georgia System,” though no specific campus was mentioned. Of the 67 campuses, three (Alderson Broaddus, Green Mountain College, and Iowa Wesleyan) closed between 2019-24, with Limestone University also seemingly on the precipice of ceasing operations. The College of St. Joseph (VT), which closed in 2019, competed in the USCAA, and was not considered in the following analysis. Nor did I include the aforementioned “University of Georgia System.”
Beyond the rural nature of these schools, I was curious how they broke down by NCAA or NAIA divisions. And, of course, I wondered whether the school was using a sports enrollment strategy, often viewed as a way to save universities. Here is what I found for the 67 four-year schools that participated in the USDA loan program.
Using each school’s most recent EADA reports, I was able to calculate the percent of each school’s enrollment that is/was unduplicated athletes. I have previously written about the potential risks associated with a university having greater than 44 percent of its student body as athletes.
Outside of five schools associated with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), none of the schools enrolled more than 2,500 undergraduate students. More than half, 38, enrolled less than 1,000 undergraduates. Across divisions, a nearly even split existed among NCAA Division II, Division III, and NAIA. NCAA DII led the way with 23 schools on the list.
Forty-one of the 67 rural schools that engaged in the USDA loan program have (or had) greater than 44 percent athletes, with 15 schools exceeding 60 percent. The now-closed Alderson Broaddus University in West Virginia, with 78.74 percent athletes in its final reporting year (2021-22), had the highest percentage in DII. In DIII, the University of Olivet in Michigan reported 83.35 percent athletes (2022-23 reporting year). In NAIA, meanwhile, Southwestern College in Kansas had the highest percentage overall with 89.67 percent athletes (2022-23 reporting year).
Geographically, the overwhelming majority of the 67 schools in the loan program could be characterized as from the southeast region of the country. Eight are located in North Carolina, with six to the north in Virginia and five more adjacent in South Carolina. Six are to the west in Tennessee.
Limestone University, which competes in the D2 South Atlantic Conference, reported 56.17 percent athletes. In that sense, Limestone is in line with its conference mates. Of the 13 full members of the conference, eight were listed as having participated in the USDA loan program. Those schools, and their percentage of athletes for the 2022-23 reporting year are listed below, alphabetically.
Conference Carolinas, another DII conference in the southeast, placed four schools on the USDA loan list, with two (Chowan University of the University of Mount Olive) exceeding 44 percent athletes. Six schools from the PSAC also appeared on the USDA loan list, though none approached the 44 percent threshold.
Within NCAA Division III, four schools each from the Ohio Athletic Conference and the USA South took advantage of the USDA loan program. Three OAC schools (Heidelberg University, Muskingum University, and Wilmington College) and three USA South schools (Brevard College, Pfeiffer University and Southern Virginia University) cracked the 44 percent athlete threshold.
In NAIA, six schools in the Appalachian Conference (Bluefield University, Bryan College, Reinhardt University, Tennessee Wesleyan University, Union College, and University of Pikeville) participated in the USDA loan program. Only Tennessee Wesleyan (39.93%) did not exceed 44 percent.
None of this should be misinterpreted to say that any school mentioned herein is in any financial jeopardy. I have no first-hand knowledge of that. But from an athletic perspective, noted higher education consultant Jeff Selingo recently commented that “one of the biggest warning signs of a college about to fail is the percentage of athletes on campus.” That percentage, in the context of the enrollment cliff, debt service payments on loans, and the challenges associated with low-enrolled majors, presents a tenuous environment for so many small universities.