After the spring semester, St. Francis College (Brooklyn) will eliminate all of its NCAA Division I athletic programs, the private university announced on Monday.
In a statement published on the college’s athletics page, the Board of Trustees and Leadership were touted for acting decisively in approving realignment plans which include eliminating all of its athletic programs.
“We want to acknowledge that SFC has a rich legacy in competitive athletics, and are proud of our Terriers today and in all years past,” the school wrote in a statement on Monday. “This difficult decision was guided by a commitment to preserving the College’s 164-year Franciscan mission to provide a high quality and affordable education to working-class and first-generation students.”
St. Francis will honor all current academic and athletic scholarships, even though students will no longer be participating in athletics. Though, employment for athletics staff and coaches will be terminated at the end of the semester.
The Northeast Conference, which is home to programs such as Fairleigh Dickinson University and Merrimack College, will now be down to eight member institutions.
CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein was the first to report the news.
The sports world reacted to news of the elimination of St. Francis’ athletic programs:
“This is a major bummer,” wrote Peter Schrager. “Great for the neighborhood and their soccer games at Brooklyn Bridge Park are awesome entertainment. Crestfallen to read this.”
After the entire campus relocated last fall, Wall Street Journal senior sports reporter Rachel Bachman recalled a line that now looks “foreboding.”
Others had many different reactions:
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.