CLARKSBURG — An “upset bid” from an Elkins businessman that was submitted Friday was apparently selected to purchase campus and equipment of bankrupt Alderson Broaddus University for $5 million, during an auction process in U.S. Bankruptcy Court Wednesday. 

The decision was made during proceedings in Bankruptcy Courtroom at 324 West Main Street in Clarksburg Wednesday.

Craig G. Phillips, owner of CGP Construction, submitted the bid on Friday, according to bankruptcy court records. He also provided a deposit of $10,000. 

Phillips was seeking to purchase Alderson Broaddus’ “real estate located at 101 College Hill Drive, Phillipi, West Virginia, along with furnishings, fixtures, equipment, and supplies.”

Phillips has not yet announced any plans for the campus and equipment.

DACK Investments, a Buckhannon real estate, rental and leasing company, submitted a bid of $4.9 million in December. 

On Wednesday during the auction, attorneys said DACK would not respond to the upset bid, according to published accounts.

In August, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission voted to revoke Alderson Broaddus’ authorization to confer degrees in the state. The order prevents Alderson Broaddus from conferring any degrees after Dec. 31, and the university is prohibited from enrolling any more students.

Later that week, the Higher Learning Commission announced that “Alderson Broaddus University in Philippi, West Virginia, voluntarily resigned its accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission, effective Dec. 31, 2023, due to its upcoming closure.”

Later in August, two class action complaints were filed against Alderson Broaddus University, on behalf of students and faculty at the school. The complaints were filed Aug. 8 in Kanawha County Circuit Court in Charleston. The defendants in both complaints are listed as Alderson Broaddus University and James Garvin, chair of the AB Board of Trustees and Governors.

The two class action complaints included claims of fraud, misrepresentation and breach of contract.

Alderson Broaddus University filed for bankruptcy Sept. 31 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of West Virginia. The school’s final class of students graduated in December.