The Saint Francis Red Flash football program represents the intercollegiate football team for

Saint Francis University Saint Francis University (SFU) is a private Catholic university in Loretto, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1847 and conducted under the tradition of the Franciscan Friars of the Third Order Regular. The university is situated on in the fore ...

. The team competes in the

NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...

(FCS) and are members of the

Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...

. The school's first football team was fielded in 1892. The team plays its home games at the 3,500-seat

DeGol Field DeGol Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Loretto, Pennsylvania, with a seating capacity of 3,450. It is home to the Saint Francis University Red Flash football, field hockey, lacrosse and track and field teams. The facility opened in 2006. It re ...

. They are coached by

Chris Villarrial Chris Villarrial (born June 9, 1973) is an American football coach and former player. He is the current head football coach at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania. He played professionally as an offensive guard with the Chicago Bea ...

History

The name dates back to 1927, when the school boasted one of the fastest football ground attacks in the east, headed by quarterback George Kunzler, captain and right halfback Ed McLister, fullback Alphonse Abels and left halfback Ralph Bruno. Because the team wore predominantly red uniforms, the fans and ''The Loretto'' (the student newspaper) dubbed the team "The Red Flashes." The nickname quickly spread, first to the football team and later that same season to the basketball team. Within 15 years, "The Red Flashes" evolved into the present form of "The Red Flash," through the efforts of sports publicist Simon "Cy" Bender. Before The Red Flashes romped on the football field, the school's teams went by a variety of unofficial nicknames, with the most popular being the "Saints." Others were derived from a Franciscan theme, such as the "Franciscans" and "Frannies." The most popular unofficial nickname also evolved from the Franciscan theme, with its origins dating back to the 1930s. The nickname "Frankies" can be traced as far back as the 1938–39 basketball season, when the name first appeared in ''The Loretto'' and the ''Johnstown Tribune-Democrat''. The rise of this nickname can be closely tied to the University's Mr. Frankie Award, given annually to an outstanding senior male, which dates to 1936. The "Gigity" nickname gained widespread use by fans and the then-college but was discontinued after the 1971–72 season, giving way to the current "Red Flash" moniker. The change coincided with the opening of the Maurice Stokes Athletics Center. Saint Francis’ athletics tradition dates back to 1867 when a group of students formed a team called the Independent Star-Athletic Association. The team played its first game under the Saint Francis banner in 1888. Gymnastics was established in 1882, while football was first played at

in 1892. The name "Red Flash" is unique among NCAA Division I schools.

Classifications

The team has participated at the following levels. *1892–1950: N/A ** 1916, 1918, 1920–1921, 1932–1937, 1942–1946, 1954–1968: No team *1951–1952: NCAA *1953: NCAA College Division *1954–1968: No team *1969–1972: NCAA College Division *1973–1977: N/A *1978–1992: NCAA Division III *1993–present: NCAA Division I-AA/FCS

Conference memberships

The team has been affiliated with the following conferences. *1892–1953: Independent *1954–1968: ''No team'' *1969–1977: Independent *1978–1988: NCAA Division III independent *1989–1991:

Atlantic Collegiate Football Conference The Atlantic Collegiate Football Conference was a short-lived NCAA Division III football conference composed of member schools located in the Northeastern United States. The league existed from 1988 to 1991.Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...

(NCAA Division I-AA/FCS)

Championships

Conference championships

† Co-champions

Playoff results

Division I FCS

The Red Flash have appeared in the FCS Playoffs two times. Their record is 0–2.

Notable former players

Notable alumni include: * Tony Bova (1917–1973) played in the NFL 1942–1947 *

Joseph Laukaitis Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

played for the

Wyoming Cavalry The Wyoming Cavalry were an American professional indoor football team based in Casper, Wyoming. They were most recently members of the Intense Conference in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Cavalry began play in 2000 as an expansion member ...

(2014), Uniform number 95 and the

Green Bay Blizzard Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combina ...

(2015) Uniform number 94 of the Indoor Football League *

George Magulick George Magulick (1919-1955) was a professional football player in the National Football League. He played in only one season (1944) for "Card-Pitt", a team that was the result of a temporary merger between the Chicago Cardinals and the Pittsburgh ...

(1919–1955) played in the NFL 1944-1944 * John McCarthy (1916–1998) College football All-American in 1941 at Saint Francis University and played in the NFL 1944-1944 *

Archie Milano Archie J. Milano (May 26, 1918 – August 12, 1991) was an American football player and coach. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for one game in 1945 with the Detroit Lions. He attended Saint Francis University in Lo ...

(1918–1981) played in the NFL 1945-1945 *

John Naioti John F. Naioti (1921-1990) was a professional football player in the National Football League. He graduated from Saint Francis University, Loretto, Pennsylvania in 1942. He played in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1 ...

(1921–1990) played in the NFL 1942 and 1945. Served in the military in 1943 and 1944. *

Joe Restic Joseph William Restic (July 21, 1926 – December 8, 2011) was an American gridiron football player and coach. He served as the head coach for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1968 to 1970 and as the head football ...

(1926–2011) played in the NFL 1952-1952 and was the head coach of Harvard from 1971 to 1993 with a record of 117–97–6. *

Ed Stofko Albert Edward Stofko (1920-1988) was a professional football player in the National Football League (NFL). He graduated from Johnstown Pennsylvania High School and attended Saint Francis University, Loretto, Pennsylvania. Career He played in t ...

(1920–1988) played in the NFL 1945-1945. He was drafted as the 85th pick in 1944.Pro-Football-Reference.com *

Lorenzo Jerome Lorenzo Jerome (born January 20, 1995) is an American football free safety. He played college football at St. Francis. Early years Jerome was a three-year starter at quarterback and defensive back at J.P. Taravella High School. College career ...

, NFL player

References

External links

* {{Northeast Conference football navbox American football teams established in 1892 1892 establishments in Pennsylvania