This past December, the Stillman College administration decided in a cost cutting move to drop baseball and other athletic programs do in the face of financial challenges. By cutting its sports program, the goal was to keep the institution from going under financially, as the college did not have the resources to maintain athletics. However, because of the success the baseball team had this past spring during the second half of the season, the athletic department has announced that the baseball program will be retained.
Baseball at Stillman has had a winning program for the last ten years and has achieved conference tournament and NCAA DII postseason regional appearances during that period. Stillman will no longer play in the NCAA Division II, but has announced a move from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and compete in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference of the NAIA.
Stillman retains baseball, thanks in large part to the efforts of head coach Julius McDougal. In his first year at the helm, McDougal turned what appeared to be a losing season around with a 20-game winning streak and made it to the conference championship game only to lose by one run in extra innings. The Tigers finished the season on a 26-4 run.
The school is making a major commitment to developing the baseball program for student athletics This move required the institution to join a respected athletic association and reestablished itself as a respected program of excellence in academics and collegiate sports.