One year ago – on the morning of March 25, 2025 – the Saint Francis community received unexpected news from the University’s president: that the school’s Athletics Program would be reclassifying from NCAA Division I to Division III in the 2026-27 academic year.
Some of the reasons cited by the administration for the move to DIII included the current name-image-likeness environment, pay-for-play and the transfer portal.
In terms of numbers, no SFU athletics team has been more affected by the pending move to DIII than the football program. Following a winless 2025 season, 89 Red Flash football players entered the transfer portal.
Just 12 players from the 2025 roster returned to campus for the 2026 spring semester.
“We are in a tough spot. We have to replace people and bring in a good amount of new faces, but we are going to be O.K.,” said Red Flash head football coach Chris Villarrial, who will enter his 18th year as head coach of the program this fall.
“We are looking to bring in 40 to 50 guys to fill the roster.”
Since the end of last season, the SFU coaching staff has conducted tryouts for players interested in joining the team.
One of the players who decided to stay at Saint Francis for the 2026 season is linebacker Kent McMahon. The junior from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, recorded eight tackles in six games last fall.
“I am looking forward to my senior season with some of the same guys that I came into this with,” said McMahon.
“We have seen just about everything go wrong since our time up here. I am hoping to have fun and end my career strong with some wins.”
Of the team’s 12 returnees this semester, eight – including McMahon – are members of the program’s 2023 recruiting class.
“This has been home to me for the past three years,” said junior defensive back Gavin Hockenberry. “The friendships and memories made here have been like no other.”
Hockenberry made nine tackles last season while seeing action in seven games. He is a native of Johnstown.
On March 16 and March 30, the Athletics Department will host an open house for high school student-athletes to find out more about the University and its sports programs.
“We are encouraged by the interest (in the open houses),” said Villarrial. “We are highly motivated and looking forward to the challenges ahead.”
Matt Hoyman, SFU’s director of football operations, said that the team will be utilizing some new technology this season, the program’s first as a member of the President’s Athletic Conference.
“We are going to start a new coach-to-player communication system,” said Hoyman. “You see it all over college football now, and especially in the NFL.”
The system will allow select players to communicate with the coordinators from the sideline. It is a more effective way to communicate play calls than relying on hand signals.
Anyone interested in trying out for the team is encouraged to contact a member of the coaching staff.
