Captain Chris Burke, who has played more than 80 games for the Bs since 1997, said the loss of University B would be harmful to university, Metropolitan and Otago rugby.
"Other clubs would be looking over their shoulder if the Bs fell by the wayside. They would wonder who would be next," Burke told the Otago Daily Times.
Despite adverse results over recent weeks, the University B team remained "in a state of high morale", Burke said.
"We are are aware of the trials and tribulations we've got and we don't intend to put our heads in the sand. We have challenges within the club but are certainly not abandoning the concept of the Bs as a premier team."
Coach Paddy Stewart dismissed the arguments to kick University B out of premier ranks now.
"There is promotion-relegation system put in place by the Metropolitan Committee to deal with these issues," he said.
"We will let the process take place.
"That is the correct procedure. If we face the promotion-relegation game to stay up, we will do it with the resources we have."
Stewart was in the Port Chalmers team that gained promotion when it beat Alhambra 7-3 in 1983.
He kicked a penalty goal in the game.
Port Chalmers has since merged with Ravensbourne to form the Harbour club.
Burke does not have any safety concerns for the many inexperienced University B players in premier rugby.
"The main safety concerns revolve around the front row and tight forwards, and in the last few seasons we haven't been deficient on those areas," he said.
The turnover of players was one of the big problems faced by University B each year.
Only 10 players had returned this year. It took time to get new combinations working properly.
"It's taken a few more games than we wanted this year," Burke said.
"It's never easy when you have injuries in key positions. We had a healthy stock of Colts Blues players that won two successive banners under John Leslie and Josh Kronfeld."
The club assumed those Colts would flow through to University B.
But the bad news for the University club was that 12 of those players had transferred to other Dunedin clubs, Burke said.
"We are now looking seriously at our retention and recruitment policies and planning a rebuilding strategy for the Bs for next season and beyond.
"We have to grow our player base. But it doesn't happen overnight. It won't happen in just one season. We need to look at the strategy over two or even three seasons.
"We would like to think that a student at university would stay with the club until he graduates.
"We have to look at the reasons why this is not happening. It is something the club will need to handle for itself."
Burke mentioned Alhambra-Union as a club that had lifted itself from the bottom of the ladder through the efforts of dedicated club officials.
"We are not the only club under pressure," he said.
"No club is immune and no-one can escape it.
"We will be more self-critical and it will take hard work. But we are committed to the Bs' future."
Despite being on the back foot with the Bs over the past few years, Burke still got pleasure from his weekly game of club rugby.
"One of the great pleasures of my life is running around a paddock for 80 minutes trying to get a tackle, trying to get a run with the ball and having a beer afterwards."
Genuine rugby people knew that rugby in New Zealand was going through challenging times.
"It is a time when rugby folk need to support each other," Burke said.
"We have to be careful not to panic under the pressure of the moment and make decisions that would be hard to reverse in the future."
Burke emphasised that University B was not going to pull out, and was committed to seeing the season out.
"We've still got unfinished business. It's business as usual for the Bs. I'd like to think that when you have a heavy loss, it's character-building. Over the last few weeks, we have received a decent dosage of character."
