Lourdes University announced it will close at the end of the 2025–26 academic year after its board and the Sisters of St. Francis concluded the institution’s finances were unsustainable. Trustees and the sponsoring order cited steep enrollment declines, mounting operating deficits and an athletic recruitment model that failed to stabilize net tuition revenue. The university enrolled about 964 students in 2025; more than 70% of undergraduates were student‑athletes, a strategy that increased headcount but widened tuition discounts and scholarship spending. William Bisse stepped down as president and the Sisters installed Nancy Linenkugel as Lourdes’ 13th and final president to oversee teach‑outs and asset stewardship. Walsh University and the University of Toledo have agreed to provide teach‑out options for affected students. The closure joins a string of small private and religious colleges that have folded amid enrollment erosion, restricted endowments and rising costs, underscoring sectorwide risk for institutions with narrow enrollment models.