Lindenwood-Belleville To Consolidate, Discontinue Swimming, Athletics in 2020

A Lindenwood swimmer prepares for a national race. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Lindenwood-Belleville has voted to consolidate its campuses, which will include discontinuing its athletic programs after the 2019-2020 school year.

Swimming has been one of the bigger programs. The men’s swim team finished third at the NAIA Championships earlier this year, while the women were ninth.

The school’s press release reads:

After much deliberation and discussion around potential enrollment strategies for the Lindenwood University Belleville, Ill., campus, the university’s Board of Trustees has voted to consolidate the daytime undergraduate academic programs from its Belleville campus to the St. Charles, Mo., campus following the 2019-2020 academic year.

“This decision comes after careful consideration by our Board of Trustees to serve the long-term interests of our students, faculty, and staff,” said J. Michael Conoyer, M.D., chairman of the Lindenwood University Board of Trustees. “We believe this plan will best position our students and Lindenwood for the future, and we will work with our students and staff to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible.”

After the conclusion of the spring semester in May 2020, traditional daytime undergraduate programs will no longer be offered at the Lindenwood Belleville campus. Evening programs will continue to be offered at the site, and all undergraduate students attending the Belleville campus at that time will be able to complete their degrees at the St. Charles campus with all scholarship packages fully intact, including athletic scholarships.

Throughout this process, students, faculty, and staff remain the top priority, in line with the university’s mission of providing a high-quality educational experience for all students. In the months leading up to this decision, a team was tasked with exploring options for the Belleville campus in light of ongoing financial and enrollment challenges. Following a thorough exploration of numerous courses of action, the Board of Trustees and leadership team determined this consolidation was the best long-term strategy for the university and the undergraduate students it principally serves.

The campus, which was the site of the former Belleville Township High School, was acquired by Lindenwood University in 2003 and has since served as a site for its accelerated evening and graduate programs. In 2009, the university added undergraduate day programs, athletic programs, and full-service residential facilities to the Belleville campus. Consolidating undergraduate programs to the St. Charles campus will allow the Belleville site to focus on graduate and accelerated evening programs.

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Danielle Wildermuth

4 years ago

That picture is of a Lindenwood Main Campus swimmer not a Lindenwood- Belleville swimmer. I can provide pictures of Lindenwood- Belleville swimmers if you would like.

Jocelyne Humbert O'Kane

4 years ago

Pay those football coaches less and let the students have other sports to complete their education

Davina Farrell

4 years ago

Reply to Jocelyne Humbert O'Kane

Jocelyne Humbert O’Kane
I agree. Many university football coaches are paid more than the pro coaches. It angers me that all centers on football. I was on OSU’s varsity crew team. In the weight room, one of the football players had the audacity to say that we didn’t deserve to be varsity because we didn’t “earn” money for the school :-O

Danielle Wildermuth

4 years ago

Reply to Davina Farrell

Lindenwood- Belleville’s football team got everything and they have not won a game since 2015. It’s ridiculous. They even got a new stadium upgrade and we (the swim team) had to practice at a YMCA with only 5 lanes.