Saint Francis University was projected to be last in the Northeast Conference, but on March 11, won the conference championship against Central Connecticut State University and automatically made the NCAA tournament.
Saint Francis played Alabama State in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament. This was the first time they had qualified for the tournament since 1991. The winner of the game would have made it to the round of 64 to play Auburn.
On March, 18, Alabama State beat Saint Francis on a buzzer-beater to advance to the round of 64.
The team will transition from the Northeast Conference to the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in the 2026-2027 year. This means that they would be going from Division I to Division III, which was a surprise, considering they made the NCAA Tournament.
The NCAA has already approved that they would move down to the new, lower division.
Has anyone from Saint Francis entered the transfer portal since the decision?
A couple of athletes have already entered the transfer portal after the season, including Chris Moncrief, Bobby Rosenberger III, Ace Talbert, Gestin Liberis and Jeremy Clayville.
Starting in the 2028-2029 season, no students at Saint Francis University will be allowed to receive athletic scholarships since they are making the transition to Division III.
According to Rev. Malachi Van Tassell, President of Saint Francis University, another factor was that the players were traveling too far, so there was not a lot of time spent on campus.
With the transition from division I to division III, players will now develop more friendships on campus, and more people will be able to attend home and away games as well since games will be more localized.
