Faced with the prospect of bankruptcy, the Kables elected to sell the academy. The new owner, Layne Leoffler, changed SMA's charter to non-profit status when he took over the school in 1973. The following year, Loeffler undertook cost-cutting measures, reducing athletic scholarships. He also fully integrated the school admitting the first Black students in the fall of 1973. However, his introduction of aggressive religious practices, peculiar staff and management changes, and reactions to accidental fires in South Barracks and Kable Hall proved too much. The deteriorating situation, combined with management problems, forced the academy to close in 1976. Mary Baldwin University, then a women's college and SMA's longtime neighbor, bought the property for $1.1 million in a bankruptcy sale.