On June 7, 2007, the Antioch University board of trustees declared that Antioch College, an independent liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, was in a state of financial exigency, and, two days later, voted to suspend college operations after the next academic year. After that year, the board oversaw the closing of the college while announcing a plan to reopen it in 2011. Since then, Antioch has closed, transferred responsibility for its operations, and made a decision to reopen. Although significant steps have been taken toward reopening the college, it is not clear whether the college will revive or how a new mission will evolve. But the announcement of the closing unleashed an uproar, including a lawsuit, extensive press coverage, a newly energized alumni association, and several rounds of intense negotiations. Antioch College has had a special place in American higher education, and the announcement of its closing generated passionate responses, from a fierce determination to reverse the decision to a determined effort to justify it. Alumni were involved on both sides, and the intensity of the struggle reflected Antioch alumni's special connection to their alma mater. In this article, the author describes the closing of Antioch College carried out in June 2008, and the effective alumni resistance to the close, along with some of the lessons that might be helpful to other colleges facing similar challenges of falling enrollments and repeated budget shortfalls.