Mississippi College announces name change, drops football. See what it will become

After nearly 200 years of educating students in Clinton, Mississippi College has announced a name change and some major restructuring.

It will now be known at Mississippi Christian University. With the name change comes an alteration of the athletic department and the announcement that the school is dropping its football program.

“After significant review and in preparation for the institution’s 2026 bicentennial, the Mississippi College Board of Trustees approved an institutional name change,” the school said in a statement.

The school has been named Mississippi College since 1830.

This decision underscores MC’s status as a comprehensive university and allows the institution to retain its MC logo and identity, the announcement said.

The statement said the institutional name change is a strategic decision that reiterates leadership’s commitment to fulfilling the private university’s vision statement, “To be known as a university recognized for academic excellence and commitment to the cause of Christ.”

Planning for a name change and associated branding efforts will begin immediately, and the new name will take effect in 2026 to coincide with the bicentennial.

At the Nov. 18 meeting, the Mississippi College Board of Trustees also approved:

• A preliminary plan for academic reorganization.

• A strategic realignment of the athletic department.

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“These transformational and necessary changes are extremely important to the future of this institution. As we look ahead to the institution’s bicentennial in 2026, we want to ensure that MC will be a university recognized for academic excellence and commitment to the cause of Christ for another 200 years,” Mississippi College President Blake Thompson said.

The preliminary plan for academic reorganization elevates the Department of Christian Studies to an interdisciplinary unit that underscores the institution’s commitment to Christian education, the statement said.

A new structure will be implemented that consolidates the School of Christian Studies and the Arts with the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the School of Education will be renamed to the School of Education and Human Science. The university provost has been charged with evaluating the potential consolidation of a limited number of academic departments on campus. This plan aims to ensure academic programs are relevant to the marketplace while also making the university more efficient and innovative.

“By refining our academic offerings and investing in key academic initiatives, we seek to provide a learning environment where students and faculty can excel, pursue meaningful scholarship and engage in impactful service,” MC Provost and Executive Vice President Mike Highfield said.

The strategic realignment of athletics includes the discontinuation of the intercollegiate football program, which it says will allow the institution to further its commitment to excellence in intercollegiate Division II play across its remaining 17 sports and pursue needed facility upgrades.

Its last football game was this weekend in a 20-14 loss to its rival Delta State University. The Choctaws finished the season with a 2-8 record and last posted a winning season in 2009, when the school was a member of NCAA Division III. MC has not had a winning season in Division II since 1991. The school first fielded a football program in 1907 and won the Division II national title in 1989 but was later stripped of that title due to recruiting violations.

“Discontinuing our football program is a difficult decision. We acknowledge the program’s legacy and the deep connection to the many student-athletes, alumni and supporters of the football program. I want to emphasize that we will always consider them as part of our MC Family,” MC Athletic Director Kenny Bizot said.

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The changes were based on recommendations from a task force of university trustees, which were developed in consultation with university leadership and approved by the Board of Trustees, with the primary goal of providing long-term sustainability for the institution through strategic mission alignment, organizational efficiencies and a structurally balanced budget.

Mississippi College, founded in 1826, serves nearly 5,000 students and is affiliated with the Mississippi Baptist Convention.

Ross Reily can be reached by email at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on Twitter @GreenOkra1.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi College to become Mississippi Christian University

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