Inside Higher Ed today reports that Spelman College will discontinue its entire intercollegiate athletic program at the conclusion of the academic year. The program, which competes in the NCAA’s Division III and is a member of the Great South Athletic Conference, will end in favor of a campus-wide wellness initiative aimed at preventative health measures for its all-female student body. From IHE:

“We say we are preparing them for their future lives, but when we think about our involvement in intercollegiate athletics or our activities in our physical education classes, those are not necessarily the things they’re going to do after graduation,” Tatum said in an interview with Inside Higher Ed. “We want them to live long and healthy lives so they can get the return on that investment they’ve made in higher education…. We really see this as a life-saving activity that we are engaging in.”

Spelman College