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St. Francis is going from the Big Dance to the fully amateur end of college sports.
The 2,000-student Catholic university 80 miles east of Pittsburgh said Tuesday that it will transition from the NCAA’s Division I to Division III for the 2026–2027 academic year.
The news comes just a week after its men’s basketball team competed in the NCAA tournament, falling 70–68 to Alabama State as a No. 16 seed in the First Four.
The decision, made by the school’s board of trustees, comes ahead of next month’s likely final settlement in the House v. NCAA case, which would allow colleges to share revenues directly with athletes. (Many schools have simply opted out of the settlement; schools that opt in face a very different reality, including roster limits in many sports.)
“This was not an easy nor a quick decision for the Board of Trustees,” school chairman Rev. Joseph Lehman said in a statement. “The governance associated with intercollegiate athletics has always been complicated and is only growing in complexity based on realities like the transfer portal, pay-for-play, and other shifts that move athletics away from love of the game.”
The Red Flash will continue to participate in the Northeast Conference through the end of spring 2026 before transitioning to the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in Division III, which includes members such as Allegheny College and Washington & Jefferson College.
Despite going 13–17 in the regular season and 8–8 in the conference, the Red Flash surprisingly won the NEC tournament to punch their ticket to March Madness. In a tournament that lacked a Cinderella, St. Francis was one of the feel-good stories of the tournament, led by coach Rob Krimmel, who has spent his entire career as a player and coach at the school. Basketball Hall of Famer Maurice Stokes played for the school in the 1950s.
St. Francis has a football program that competes in the Football Championship Subdivision and has won two conference titles in the past decade. Its football program is also headed to Division III, where schools are not allowed to grant athletic scholarships, much less pay players.
Division III sports are a much different landscape than Division I and Division II; schools set their own eligibility requirements and tend to be more academically oriented.
The school has set up a website to assist athletes, staff, and coaches with the transition.
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