Saint Francis Cougars

Varsity teams

USF competes in 19 intercollegiate varsity sports:

Basketball

The University of Saint Francis Cougars won their first NAIA Championship on March 16, 2010. The Cougars won the 2010 NAIA Men's Division II basketball tournament when they defeated Walsh University 67–66 at Pt. Lookout, Missouri. The Cougars entered the tourney as the 15th seed. For his success, head coach Jeff Rekeweg was named the 2010 NAIA National Coach of the Year. On April 19, 2010, after 14 seasons of guiding the Cougars, Rekeweg resigned to take the head coaches position at Northwood University, an NCAA Division II school located in Midland, Michigan.

The Cougars returned the following year to play in the championship game on March 15, 2011. That year, the Cougars were runners-up in the 2011 NAIA Men's Division II basketball tournament when the Cougars were defeated by Cornerstone (MI) 80–71. The Cougars entered the tourney as the 13th seed.

In 2021 The Cougars once again made a run at the National Title in the NAIA's first year with one single division. The Cougars were awarded a first round bye after finishing as runner-up in the 2021 Crossroads League Tournament, and entered the round of 32. There they defeated Benedictine (KS), 73–65. In the round of 16, the Cougars defeated Stillman (AL), before a come from behind victory against fellow conference foe, Bethel (IN). In the Final Four, their fifth appearance since 2010, they fell just short against eventual champion Shawnee State.

Football

Main article: Saint Francis Cougars football

Saint Francis named Kevin Donley the Cougars' head coach in 1997. After a year of preparation, Saint Francis began play, as Fort Wayne's first collegiate football program, in the 1998 season. Coach Donley led USF to a record of 2-8 (.200), their first and only losing football season.

Since that initial season, Saint Francis has risen to become one of the top programs in all of NAIA football. From the 1999 season through the 2013 season, Donley-led teams have lost three or fewer games each season. Eight teams have completed undefeated regular seasons (2002–2006, 2008, 2015, 2017), and three consecutive teams finished as national runners-up (2004–2006).

The Cougars made a fourth appearance in the national championship game in 2016, winning their first NAIA national title with their 38–17 win over Baker (KS) in the 2016 NAIA Football National Championship. The following season, 2017, the Cougars returned a 5th time and successfully defended their title by defeating Reinhardt (GA) by a score of 24–13 in the 2017 NAIA Football National Championship. The Cougars completed a 14–0 undefeated season. This was only the 5th time in NAIA history that the back-to-back championships has occurred.

National championship appearances

• denotes champions

References

References

1. (April 19, 2010). "Jeff Rekeweg Named Men's Basketball Head Coach".
2. "Refreshing to". Naia.cstv.com.
3. "DONLEY, KEVIN | Indiana Football Hall of Fame". Indiana-football.org.
4. (December 17, 2016). "Saint Francis Wins First National Championship". National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
5. [https://waynedalenews.com/2010/03/usf-naia-national-champs/ USF NAIA NATIONAL CHAMPS]. March 26, 2010 – Bill Scott, USF Sports
6. [https://www.saintfranciscougars.com/sports/mbkb/2010-11/releases/20110331_Celebrating_at_Hutzell Celebrating at Hutzell], 31 Mar 2011
7. [https://www.naia.org/sports/wbkb2/2013-14/releases/20140319kikiw Saint Francis Wins First National Championship], 19 March 2014
8. [https://www.naia.org/sports/fball/2016-17/releases/20161218nnmhm Saint Francis Wins First National Championship] at NAIA.org, 18 Dec 2016
9. [https://www.saintfranciscougars.com/sports/fball/2017-18/releases/20180116_2017_NAIA_Football_champions_honored 2017 NAIA Football champions honored] on saintfranciscougars.com