St. Francis (PA)

[IUPbigINDIANS]

That's how you do it.

I get it. Protect leaks.

I'm just thinking of what they went through.

[Bballfan]

Malone did something similar about 5 years back. Told the football team they were disbanding immediately. Scholarships lost. Coaches out of work. Just think of all those athletes that "thought" they were at a D1 school with scholarship money. Now you basically are an athlete at a school below the D2 level.

[bballfan03]

So if theyre joining the PAC effective July 1, 2025 but not competition until 26-27.. does that mean they will remain in the NEC this upcoming season?

[Bballfan]

So if theyre joining the PAC effective July 1, 2025 but not competition until 26-27.. does that mean they will remain in the NEC this upcoming season?

Probably be in purgatory. As Mercyhurst is trying to move up, St. Francis will be moving down. Wild times!

[EyeoftheHawk]

Malone did something similar about 5 years back. Told the football team they were disbanding immediately. Scholarships lost. Coaches out of work. Just think of all those athletes that "thought" they were at a D1 school with scholarship money. Now you basically are an athlete at a school below the D2 level.

And a very expensive school at that. I imagine it’s going to be ugly for a while there. A lot of young lives just got derailed.

[IUP24]

I know that a lot of people on this message board don't agree with my perspective on D1 sports, or largely, don't follow it at the same pace that I do. I got into a ton of conversations with those who shared far different opinions on the college football playoff than I did between November, December, and January. I know we (fans) are just casual peasants in the entire charade. But we are just feeding into the machine with the way we consume and treat the dregs of college sports (and the list of "dregs" keeps growing by the day as the money gets greater and greater).

People want to be "entertained" at the holidays when they turn on the television, I get it. But the more we all shout from the mountain tops that anyone outside of the SEC or B1G does not matter, the more we, the consumer, justify what's going on in college athletics. We live in a world where about 30 schools make decisions that impact every sport and every level of collegiate athletics. St. Francis doesn't drop to D3 if Ohio State, Alabama, and those of that ilk, didn't advocate for and help to create much of the chaos that exists today because it would make it easier for them dominate a world they already dominated. And for every single time we say that we don't want to see SMU, Boise State, or whoever in the College Football Playoff, we justify that what and who those 30 schools are advocating for is "okay." I use the CFP as the example because the consumer seems to only want the big programs represented or included there, different than the opinions many have shown about this rendition of the NCAA Tournament.

Colin Cowherd (who I do like) had the most ironic 10-minute monologue about this entire thing the other day. He was complaining about the people who are complaining that there have been no upsets and that the Sweet 16 is all major programs. He said that "this is great for college basketball." He stated that people don't care about Gonzaga or some low-end mid major like Florida Gulf Coast or St. Peters. He said that Purdue and Virginia losing as 1-seeds was terrible for the NCAA. He said NIL and the portal makes the biggest programs with the biggest names the best they can be and that is a great thing. What's hilarious is that Colin Cowherd can't see that he himself is actually "Cinderella." Cowherd went to Eastern Washington and is from a small town. He didn't attend USC's renowned school of communication. He didn't go to the Syracuse school of sports broadcasting. He's the mid-major that made the run in the NCAA tournament, or the G5 school that gets into the CFP. His success is what he advocates against, but he's too obtuse to realize that.

And to be clear, I am not attempting to start a debate or suggest that fans "boycott" watching college sports. I simply wish that more would identify that college sports exists in far more places than campuses of SEC and B1G universities. And I wish that the larger consumer (who MOST of which have allegiances and diplomas to schools not in either of those two leagues) would advocate a little more for the "everybody else" category of college sports.

[EyeoftheHawk]

I prefer the Cinderella stories myself and probably won’t watch much of the NCAA Tournament the rest of the way. There’s not a single story there that interests me now. I also like seeing a long shot or two get into the CFP, knowing full well that they’re not going to win it. What most people remember about Olympic hockey, or hockey at all, is the Miracle on Ice. I get it that’s a once in a generation thing, but it’s what people remember. There’s a reason Hoosiers is still rated that #1 sports movie of all time. This is what I like though and I get that people like seeing all the top programs come playoff time. To each his own.

[IUP24]

I prefer the Cinderella stories myself and probably won’t watch much of the NCAA Tournament the rest of the way. There’s not a single story there that interests me now. I also like seeing a long shot or two get into the CFP, knowing full well that they’re not going to win it. What most people remember about Olympic hockey, or hockey at all, is the Miracle on Ice. I get it that’s a once in a generation thing, but it’s what people remember. There’s a reason Hoosiers is still rated that #1 sports movie of all time. This is what I like though and I get that people like seeing all the top programs come playoff time. To each his own.

I am with you.

I just wish people could see that the manner in which we consume just feeds the machine. Independent of each other, I'm okay with the portal and with players getting some payment, but both things unchecked together is a major problem. And it's largely led to the destruction of the lower level of college athletics and has killed most programs not in either of the 2 major programs in D1 - but not attempting to skin that cat here.

Most people support programs and teams not in the elite category of college sports. Advocate for those ones, not for your viewing pleasure in December (CFP) or March (NCAA Tournament). That's all I ask of people.

[Chuck Norris]

I prefer the Cinderella stories myself and probably won’t watch much of the NCAA Tournament the rest of the way. There’s not a single story there that interests me now. I also like seeing a long shot or two get into the CFP, knowing full well that they’re not going to win it. What most people remember about Olympic hockey, or hockey at all, is the Miracle on Ice. I get it that’s a once in a generation thing, but it’s what people remember. There’s a reason Hoosiers is still rated that #1 sports movie of all time. This is what I like though and I get that people like seeing all the top programs come playoff time. To each his own.

My “problem” with this year’s tournament was more a lack of drama than a lack of Cinderella. There just weren’t many competitive, compelling games. I love seeing a Cinderella or two survive the first weekend or at least pull off a first round stunner. I think the reason some people don’t is that usually, though certainly not always, when the glass slipper comes off the end result is ugly. And the deeper you go in the tournament, the fewer games are left and the more of a letdown it is to see non competitive games. Obviously when the big boys square off blowouts happen as well but on paper it’s less likely.

This slate of Sweet 16 matchups looks outstanding. Hopefully it delivers after a lackluster first weekend.

[Bballfan]

I have found myself watching the women's tournament more so far. At least they have had more competitive games than a lot of snoozers in the men's, at least in the 2nd round. In the 1st round the women's tournament is typically awful, and the men's 1st round is more appealing. But this year even the men didn't have a lot of drama. The fact that are just a bunch of Power 4 teams in the sweet 16 (both men and women) might make for some good games, but lacks what "March Madness" is known for. Certainly no "madness" this year.

[Fightingscot82]

Malone did something similar about 5 years back. Told the football team they were disbanding immediately. Scholarships lost. Coaches out of work. Just think of all those athletes that "thought" they were at a D1 school with scholarship money. Now you basically are an athlete at a school below the D2 level.

In my experience, the schools usually honor the athletic scholarship through graduation. I wouldn't agree with Malone's move at all. Yeah, the coaches are let go at the end of the fiscal year or given a severance to leave now, but schools usually take care of the students. If that's how Malone truly did it, that's terrible.

Someone I know at St. Francis said this came as a total shock to the entire campus. They were thinking D2 or dropping football. I bet the delayed timeline is to honor the NEC schedule that's already made for next year and their FBS play up football games (next year they have two - Louisiana Monroe and Buffalo). This also upends the following FBS/FCS mercenary games:

2026: Bowling Green
2027: Ohio
2030: WVU

[Fightingscot82]

Just saw, "In the 2028-29 academic year, athletes will no longer be able to receive athletic scholarships." Probably why they have the probationary period. Honor the existing scholarships as they cycle out.

[Bballfan]

Yes. They should be to cycle out. Malone did honor any scholarship monies, but of course if you wanted to play football you had to leave. Malone didn't offer a lot of athletic monies to begin with, and without football I think a lot of players did just quit school or transfer.

Incidentally, the old Malone president is now running Ursuline, who is looking to merge with Gannon. These presidents just cycle around to different universities and who knows what they leave in their wake.

I suspect a lot of St. Francis athletes will be looking to leave to continue their college athletic career. Good opportunity for PSAC schools to pickup talent. I am sure the really good ones will try to stay D1, but at least D2 will offer better competition than D3 schools. And as far as recruiting, new athletes are not going to get athletic money so jump off the ship while you can.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Yes. They should be to cycle out. Malone did honor any scholarship monies, but of course if you wanted to play football you had to leave. Malone didn't offer a lot of athletic monies to begin with, and without football I think a lot of players did just quit school or transfer.

Incidentally, the old Malone president is now running Ursuline, who is looking to merge with Gannon. These presidents just cycle around to different universities and who knows what they leave in their wake.

I suspect a lot of St. Francis athletes will be looking to leave to continue their college athletic career. Good opportunity for PSAC schools to pickup talent. I am sure the really good ones will try to stay D1, but at least D2 will offer better competition than D3 schools. And as far as recruiting, new athletes are not going to get athletic money so jump off the ship while you can.

TikTok has been an interesting environment to see posts from athletes there. Some of them just transferred to SFU. Can you even imagine! I haven’t seen a single post where a kid said they saw it coming.

There are also several posts from national media types talking about this being one of the first examples of what will be many smaller D1 schools dropping down. I think they’re probably right. Maybe D3 is where you want to go as a fan where you’ll actually get some parity. D1 and D2 are now just lower levels of professional sports.

[IUP24]

TikTok has been an interesting environment to see posts from athletes there. Some of them just transferred to SFU. Can you even imagine! I haven’t seen a single post where a kid said they saw it coming.

There are also several posts from national media types talking about this being one of the first examples of what will be many smaller D1 schools dropping down. I think they’re probably right. Maybe D3 is where you want to go as a fan where you’ll actually get some parity. D1 and D2 are now just lower levels of professional sports.

I think many of these schools (even those in D2) are about to get out of the scholarship sports business and drop to D3. There's no ROI for it really. I listened to a very interesting podcast yesterday that spoke about this. And this is going to blow the minds of everybody here who just encourage players to "GO CHASE THE BAG!!!!!!"

Currently, about 1 in 80 college football players make a dime from playing college football. Believe that or don't, but the vast majority of football and basketball players aren't getting paid. It's just stupid money at a few schools.

What does that tell you? That ultimately college sports still exist as an opportunity to give individuals opportunities (many of which are from impoverished areas) to use athletics as a means to obtain a college degree to hopefully springboard themselves to a better life. Say what you want about the NCAA, and there's certainly a lot that you can say, but they allowed for millions of kids to attend and graduate college who otherwise wouldn't have had that opportunity. The 20-30 elite athletic factories in higher education are too narrow minded to identify that the decisions they are making are leading to a downstream effect that will result in the reduction of scholarship opportunities for thousands, eventually millions, of student athletes.