In 2013, with the landmark Ed O'Bannon lawsuit in its early stages, then-Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany wrote in a letter to federal court that his conference's schools would drop to Division III if college athletes ever directly shared in television revenue.
Twelve years later, college athletes are months away from sharing in their schools' revenue, assuming the House settlement is approved next month by Judge Claudia Wilken (ironically, the same judge that presided over O'Bannon v. NCAA). Delany is long gone from college athletics and the Big Ten isn't going anywhere, but one school is turning Delany's warning into reality.
St. Francis University, located in Loretto, Pa., announced Tuesday it will transition from Division I to Division III beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. Tuesday's announcement did not mention House specifically, but its shadow colored every word.
"Based on the changes in athletics nationally, 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," SFU board chairman Rev. Joseph Lehman, Ph.D., said.
The Red Flash compete in the Northeast Conference in all sports, including football. Head coach Chris Villarrial's team went 4-7 in 2024, and the 2025 season (SFU's last at the FCS level) will see the Red Flash open with FBS opponents ULM and Buffalo.
St. Francis will move into the Presidents' Athletic Conference, which is concentrated almost entirely in the state of Pennsylvania; nine of its 11 members are in the Keystone State, the other two are in West Virginia and Kentucky. Reducing travel was part of the reason why the Red Flash are making the move.
"The Board and I have been concerned about the student-athlete experience for many years," SFU president Dr. Malachi Van Tassell said. "The geography of our conference is huge. Our students travel either to Chicago or to Boston or to points in between. 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."
As Extra Points publisher and college athletics insider Matt Brown tweeted earlier this month, the St. Francis announcement is more likely to be the beginning of a movement than an anomaly.
Not sure what schools end up going through with it or not…nobody wants to be first. And to be fair, some of these situations are more about the SCHOOL being in very rough shape than just House/Rev Share/athletic expenses. Not much you can do in an enrollment/revenue crisis.
— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) March 11, 2025
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.