NCAA Tournament Team Announces Downward Move to Division III Level

The basketball programs will compete at the Division III level beginning in the 2026-27 school year.

One week after falling to Alabama State in the First Four, Saint Francis will no longer compete in basketball at the Division I level. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

One week after appearing in the First Four of the NCAA tournament, the Saint Francis Red Flash have announced that they will no longer compete at the Division I level for college basketball.

The program said that effective this July, the school will move its basketball programs to the Division III level, and will compete in the Presidents' Athletic Conference beginning in the 2026-27 school year. While the formal move will begin this July, Saint Francis will play one more season in Division I in the Northeast Conference, which they won earlier this month to punch their ticket to the NCAA tournament.

NEWS: St Francis, a week after playing in the NCAA D-I Men’s Basketball Tournament, has announced it will reclassify to D-III effective July 1.

It will begin competing in D-III’s Presidents’ Athletic Conference in the 2026-2027 academic year.

— Colin Beazley (@colin_beazley) March 25, 2025

Saint Francis fell to Alabama State, 70-68 in last week's First Four. A victory would have earned the Red Flash a date with No. 1 seed Auburn in the round of 64.

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