S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday issued a negative outlook for U.S. nonprofit colleges, warning institutions will face mounting operating pressures in 2026. Analysts cited federal policy shifts, enrollment competition, rising costs and new revenue-sharing deals with athletes as factors squeezing margins, and predicted more closures—especially among small regional private colleges. S&P singled out threats to research funding and possible limits on overhead reimbursement as additional strains on larger research universities. The firm’s warning echoes recent notes from Moody’s and frames credit downgrades and liquidity stress as an industry-wide risk that boards, presidents and CFOs must address now.