Auburn AD John Cohen reminisces on time with Birmingham Southern College baseball
BIRMINGHAM — With Birmingham Southern College shutting down, a lot of former players have shared memories and thoughts from their time at the school.
Auburn athletic director John Cohen was a member of the baseball team for one year in 1986. On Monday during the Associated Press Sports Editors regional meeting on the campus of Samford University in Birmingham, Cohen reminisced on his time with the Panthers and shared his thoughts about the historic college closing its doors for good.
"From just a baseball standpoint, what an incredible history. A lot of that has to go back to Brian Shoop and the magic that he had with that program, from an NAIA program, to a division one program. I'm sad to see that Birmingham Southern won't be around but understand why it's come to this. It's such a beautiful area of Birmingham, that campus. I'd love to see it put to good use," Cohen said.
"I spent nine months of my life there, got a great education for the year I was there. You have friends, you have colleagues that have been part of the Birmingham Southern community. Butch Thompson our baseball coach and his lovely wife are graduates of Birmingham Southern, to name a couple. In some ways it's disappointing but also it's part of evolution of life, these things are going to happen."
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Birmingham Southern College closed its doors for the final time on May 31, in the midst of a magical NCAA Division III World Series run by its baseball team. The Panthers fell via a walkoff on Sunday in the final chapter of athletics for the school. The school had been struggling financially and had looked to the Alabama legislature for a $30 million dollar loan, but the bill never made it through the legislature.
Cohen played for the Panthers for one season after graduating from Tuscaloosa Academy before transferring to Mississippi State. From there he entered coaching, later being the coach at Mississippi State before stepping into the athletic director role there. He came to Auburn in 2022.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Auburn AD John Cohen on Birmingham Southern College baseball
