Latest news with #RedFlash
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Late surge has Red Flash back in the NCAA Tournament
LORETTO (WTAJ) — Stop me if you've heard this story before: the Red Flash catch fire at the end of the season, winning 11 of their last 12, including an NEC Championship to secure their spot in the NCAA Tournament. That's the story of Saint Francis softball. It's a similar script that Saint Francis basketball used to end their 30-plus year tournament drought, only the Red Flash are no strangers to the NCAA Softball Tournament. Friday's matchup against Texas A&M will make it the seventh time in eight years that SFU is in it. The Red Flash got here with a 26-24 record, a sharp drop-off from the team's 41 wins last spring. Still, an NEC Championship run sends them to the College Station region with the overall top seed, Texas A&M. 'We started a lot of freshmen, a lot of sophomores, who sat on the bench last year. And so they just had to get the nerves out and they had to figure out what a Saint Francis softball look like for this group,' said second year head coach Beth Krysiak. Since 2017, Saint Francis has been a staple at the NCAA Tournament. Last year, a 1-0 win over Sienna in the Evanston Regional marked the team's second all-time postseason victory. It gave the team a lesson they carried into Friday's matchup. 'It's a big stage, but everyone messes up and I feel like everything that happened just kind of brought us closer together,' said junior outfielder Savannah Nash. 'I think that just not thinking of or thinking about what we're doing, and just putting (the game) that into perspective.' 'Being at the one seed is continuing to thrive in chaos for us. And we've done nothing but that this year,' said Krysiak. 'So continuing to thrive in that chaos, I believe that we can come out on the other side. We can definitely go take a game or two.' Saint Francis plays Texas A&M at 3:30 Friday on the SEC Network, proceeding a game between Marist and Liberty. The NCAA softball regionals are a two-loss elimination format. It runs Friday through Sunday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Forbes
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
'A Time For Choosing'-Saint Francis' Bold Shift To Division III
DAYTON, OHIO - MARCH 18: St. Francis (Pa) Red Flash celebrate during the second half in the First ... More Four game of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at University of Dayton Arena on March 18, 2025 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by) After advancing in the NCAA's 2025 Men's March Madness and facing Alabama State in a highly competitive 'First Four' match-up in mid-March, Saint Francis University caught many in the college sports world by surprise when they announced they were departing to Division III in 2026-27. In an exclusive podcast conversation for Trustees and Presidents: Managing Intercollegiate Athletics, Father Malachi Van Tassell told me about their decision, their process and offered advice to other leaders as the college athletics landscape shifts. Higher education leaders may benefit in learning more about his thinking. 'It's a 'time for choosing' in higher education,' Van Tassell told me. As Division I has changed dramatically in the last several years, it 'became clear that future successes were dependent upon NIL' deals for men's basketball. The school's location in Loretto, Pennsylvania, did not lend itself to the kinds of business opportunities and donors found in larger metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City. 'We've always been both D1 and a small school-have I've always been talking about how great it is to be a both/and institution. You can be a D1 softball player and be a nursing major,' he continued. 'But now we're saying, OK, there's a lot of factors here outside of our control. Life as a D1 institution is going to get more difficult, more expensive. So, we really started to do some soul searching.' Where does the 'typical' Saint Francis student come from? 'Our typical students, 70 % give or take, are from Western Pennsylvania. And the interesting piece though, as a D1 institution, it's the D1 that attracts 40 % of our undergraduate population who are student athletes.' Like some private universities during the economic recession of 2008-09, they weathered the enrollment declines by using the attraction of membership in Division I. They also began to attract international student-athletes, adding a different dimension to the campus culture. DAYTON, OHIO - MARCH 18: A detailed view of on-court signage before the game between the Alabama ... More State Hornets and the St. Francis (Pa) Red Flash in the First Four of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at University of Dayton Arena on March 18, 2025 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by) As Division I evolved financially with NIL, they began to think about 'market positioning' in other Divisions. Their conference, the NEC, had also experienced a membership evolution, expanding the footprint to include both Chicago and the Boston area. The average trip was six hours by bus, and with no commercial airports closer than 90 minutes away, athletes were spending an extraordinary amount of time on the road. Van Tassell and his Board of Trustees spent months in frank discussions about the mission of the school. 'The thing is two thirds of my board are alumni, which is great. Some of them had been student athletes…(recounting) memories of their own experiences in the 1970s, 80s, 90s. So we needed to start by educating our trustees of this is what it's like on ground in Saint Francis today. It started with board education, anything from the basics, like what is NIL, to the complexities of the economics of 'over-rostering'.' Once the group shared the same understandings of how much Division I college athletics had changed, the table was cleared of old perceptions and the team could start with a fresh perspective. 'Having been president going on 11 years, at this point, trustees are folks on the board that I've invited to join the board. I've had the opportunity to develop really strong relationships with. It's a luxury that I have versus an institution that's a state institution where political appointees are the trustees'. The board and his leadership team were unafraid to push back and challenge each other. "The Board really wrestled with this-they asked the tough questions and it was factual. There was emotion because it was people with their own ideas and their own expertise. And it really was a great mix of 'iron sharpening iron' with people coming to a good decision, together'. I asked Van Tassell to elaborate. "Part of one of the motivators in us making the switch is because of the NIL piece. Being a small school, you're typically on the losing end of that kind of stuff…then that's where it goes into philosophy and mission. I don't want to be in an arms race. The money is better spent on people.' When the announcement went public, the pushback from many athletes was fierce. Some told the Troubadour, the student newspaper, they were 'blindsided' by the news. Several talked about putting themselves into the transfer portal immediately. The athletics director had resigned. Despite leading the team to the NEC championship and a spot in the 2025 NCAA March Madness 'First Four' Round for the first time in 34 years, men's basketball coach Rob Krimmel announced his retirement. The department appeared to be floundering. Anticipating strong pushback, the leadership team planned ahead. Saint Francis will remain in Division I for one more year, Van Tassell said. He is hoping that many of the coaches and athletes will stay and not feel rushed to make a quick decision. There are more issues to work out, but they quickly found a conference home in the Division III President's Athletic Conference, where the longest bus trip will be three hours. When I asked him for a final piece of advice he might offer to other institutional leaders considering a move like this, he didn't flinch. 'Don't wait. But be smart about it….you don't want to be the last person to do this. You want to control your own destiny.' Important advice for all university leaders at a pivotal moment in higher education.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rob Krimmel leaving Saint Francis
LORETTO (WTAJ) — Days after Saint Francis announced its intentions to move from Division I to Division III, head basketball coach Rob Krimmel resigned. 'Coach Krimmel's legacy at Saint Francis University will forever be remembered for the profound impact he has had on our community,' Fr. Malachi Van Tassell, Saint Francis President, said in a release. St. Francis alumni shocked over athletics decision to move to Division III Krimmel spent 29-years with the Red Flash. He started as a player in 1996, before serving as an assistant coach and eventually head coach for the past 13 seasons. This year, he led Saint Francis back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in more than 30-years. 'Saint Francis will always hold a special place in my heart,' he said. 'I am grateful for all of the people who have supported and impacted my journey as a student-athlete, a coach, a husband, a father, and a person. I will cherish the relationships that were built on and off the court as a result of my time in Loretto.' Krimmel, who is just 47-years-old, plans to retire from coaching. He led SFU for 399 games, recording a 171-128 record. In 2019 the Red Flash won a regular season conference title, and this year they won the NEC Tournament title. His announcement comes on the heels of Saint Francis's decision to move down to Division III beginning in 2026. In the days since a number of players have entered the transfer portal including leading scorer Riley Parker. 'As Saint Francis transitions into a new era, it is time for me to step away as the head men's basketball coach,' said Krimmel. 'Over the course of the last few months, I understand more than ever that God has a plan for me.' 'From student to coach to colleague, he has embodied the very best of what it means to be a Red Flash,' said Van Tassell. 'His dedication, integrity, and passion have left an indelible mark on this institution—we could not have asked for a finer representative of Saint Francis. We wish him nothing but the very best in this next chapter, and he will always remain a cherished friend of Saint Francis University.' Saint Francis named associate head coach Luke McConnell as Krimmel's replacement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Washington Post
26-03-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
St. Francis, coming off rough NCAA tourney loss, announces Division III move
A week after suffering a last-second loss in the First Four of the men's NCAA tournament, St. Francis University (Pennsylvania) announced it will be moving its athletics from Division I to Division III. The decision, made by the university's board of trustees and revealed Tuesday, is set to take effect in the fall of 2026. Officials with the Catholic private school cited the dramatically altered landscape of college sports and travel demands posed by its current membership in the Northeast Conference. 'The governance associated with intercollegiate athletics has always been complicated,' the Very Rev. Joseph Lehman, the board's chairman, said in a statement, '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 'pay-for-play' reference could be in regard to expectations that a settlement will soon be reached in a lawsuit against the NCAA, House v. NCAA, that may result in college athletics programs paying players directly. As it is, the implementation of name, image and likeness (NIL) deals for college athletes has caused some observers to suggest that at least some of them are already de facto 'pay-for-play' arrangements. The burgeoning financial realities of competing at the Division I level could prompt other schools, particularly ones sharing a relatively small, private profile, to move to a lower tier. Division III has the most schools of the NCAA's tiers and the lowest median undergraduate enrollments. Division III programs are barred from offering athletic scholarships, although many athletes receive academic grants or need-based assistance. In 2023, the University of Hartford began its move from Division I to Division III, a process that takes four years to complete. St. Francis, which has NIL clubs for several of its athletic programs, has an enrollment of around 2,000 students and competes at the intercollegiate level in eight men's sports: basketball, cross-country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, track and field and volleyball. It has women's teams in basketball, cross-country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball and water polo. Earlier this month, St. Francis won the NEC men's basketball tournament for the first time since 1991. The Red Flash received a No. 16 seed in the NCAA tournament and was selected to play in the First Four against Alabama State. With a berth in the main field at stake, St. Francis was on the verge of sending the game into overtime when the Hornets threw a lengthy inbounds pass that bounced off several hands and found an Alabama State player, who laid the ball in with less than a second to go. The stunning sequence set off jubilation among Hornets players and fans but provided a heartbreaking experience for the Red Flash. With Tuesday's announcement, the rough loss may also go down as the school's final moment on that prominent of a national stage. Located in the town of Loretto in the Allegheny Mountains east of Pittsburgh, St. Francis has been a charter member of the NEC since the league's establishment in 1981. Three fellow original members — Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island University and Wagner — remain and have seen several other programs come and go. The NEC currently has nine schools, with the 2024 addition of Chicago State marking a notable expansion to the west. Saying Tuesday he and the board have been 'concerned about the student-athlete experience for many years,' the president of St. Francis noted that 'the geography of our conference is huge.' 'Our students travel either to Chicago or to Boston or to points in between,' the Very Rev. Malachi Van Tassell said in a statement. 'That's a lot of time not spent on campus, developing friendships or in the classroom. This change allows our students to be present on campus and lets their friends attend more of their home and away games. This decision is about creating and maintaining community and allowing our student-athletes to thrive in the classroom and their chosen sport.' The Red Flash will join the Division III Presidents' Athletic Conference, whose members are clustered near the western edge of Pennsylvania or just across the border in Ohio and West Virginia. The league, founded in 1955, currently has 12 members. 'Based on the changes in athletics nationally,' Lehman said, 'it would be a disservice to our student-athletes and athletic department staff not to review and assess how we can best provide the resources necessary for them to be competitive.'
Fox Sports
25-03-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
St. Francis University is moving from Division I to Division III in 2026
The first run to the NCAA Division I basketball tournament in more than 30 years by Saint Francis (Pa.) could also be its last. The school announced Tuesday it would move from Division I to Division III in the summer of 2026. The announcement comes a week after the Red Flash played in March Madness for the first time since 1990. The Northeastern Conference Tournament champions were edged by Alabama State in the First Four on a last-second layup. The school, which is located in the Allegheny Mountains about 80 miles east of Pittsburgh, has accepted an invitation to begin play in the Division III-level Presidents Athletic Conference during the 2026-27 academic year. The private Catholic school, with an enrollment of around 3,000 students, indicated that the shift in college athletics over the last few years — including the transfer portal and the ability for athletes to make money off their name, image and likeness — played a factor in the decision. The wide geographic footprint of the NEC was also an issue. "Our students travel either to Chicago or to Boston or to points in between," the school's president, the Rev. Malachi Van Tassell, said in a statement. "That's a lot of time not spent on campus, developing friendships or in the classroom. This change allows our students to be present on campus and lets their friends attend more of their home and away games." Van Tassell added he knows the transition will be "stressful" for student-athletes and that the administration will do what it can to offer support to everyone involved. Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from College Basketball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
