BEAUMONT, Texas — A Beaumont faith-based university that has been operating for less than a year announced a major change.
Holy Patriot University announced it will no longer have an active sports department. The announcement followed a slew of complaints from parents of students, who claimed the school did not deliver on its promises.
In April 2022, university officials announced it would operate in Beaumont. Back in April, founder and president of Holy Patriot University David Angeron said athletics would be an integral part of Holy Patriot University’s vision.
School officials had big plans for their student-athletes.
University officials spent the spring and summer of 2022 recruiting coaches and student-athletes for several different programs. Leaders even worked out a deal for student-athletes to train at Golden Triangle Sports academy.
While recruiting efforts were underway, university representatives were still looking for an office space to rent. While the classes the university does offer are completely online, officials wanted a "common space" available for students to work.
University leaders eventually settled on South Baptist Park Church. However, when it came to a space for athletes to train consistently, the university fell short.
According to Angeron, the school was unable to pay for the practice space after students began dropping out and tuition was not being paid on time.
"Just like every new university has to go through, it takes some time to get accredited, so that we can offer financial aid," Angeron said. "Being a not- for profit university, we strongly rely on tuition payments and donations, when three-quarters of our students are late and delinquent on payments, it makes it tough for us to move forward with the athletic department."
Angeron said the school is here to stay and will continue to offer faith-based classes. The university is seeking the proper state accreditation to add non-faith-based classes, which could open up the possibility for the athletics department to return.
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