Interesting conversations on the Onnidan sports boards suggesting that state politics has a role in this; namely, that the University System of Georgia Board of Regents' consolidation of former HBCU Armstrong State (located in Savannah) into Georgia Southern was a factor. I get it, but Savannah State's woeful record and ongoing financial troubles certainly contributed.

Mergers of HBCU's is a volatile topic. There have been stories for years that Mississippi Valley and Alcorn State were candidates to roll into Jackson State but it would cause too much pushback, as would Southern into LSU. No one wants to see see their school closed, but there are a lot of smaller state schools out there in trouble.

(One could only imagine the artillery that would be set off if someone in Columbia tried to merge The Citadel into the University of South Carolina.)