College athletics is an expensive proposition for smaller schools. While the past decade has seen a wide range of new additions to the Division I landscape, a handful of teams have reclassified in an attempt to curtail expenses and find a more competitive landscape.
St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York, has been a member of the Northeast Conference since its inception in 1981. It won’t be part of the league for the 2023-2024 season. It won’t be part of any league, because the institution is dropping all its athletic programs once this spring’s schedules come to a close.
The announcement came from athletic director Irma Garcia Monday afternoon — one day after fellow NEC member Fairleigh-Dickinson University’s historic NCAA tournament run ended.
A statement from Director of Athletics Irma Garcia regarding today's announcement from @SFCNY #BrooklynTough pic.twitter.com/StVkfKEthZ
— St. Francis Brooklyn (@SFBKTerriers) March 20, 2023
Terrier Family,
I come to you today to share the news of a decision I never anticipated during my time at St. Francis College. I am heartbroken that a decision has been made to eliminate the College’s athletics program, effective at the conclusion of the Spring 2023 semester. My heart hurts for our student-athletes, coaches, and staff.
The COVID-19 pandemic has left an indelible impact on St. Francis College, and as a result, Terrier Athletics.
To ensure that student-athletes can continue their studies at SFC uninterrupted, the College will honor all current academic and athletic scholarships, even though students will no longer be participating in athletics.
I want to thank every student-athlete that has donned the Terrier Blue and Red over the many generations that have come to Brooklyn. Our student-athletes have been at the heart of our Department’s work and we will continue to support them to the best of our ability in the aftermath of the College’s decision.
It’s a gutting decision that comes as part of a larger restructuring for the school with an enrollment of nearly 2,500 students. The Terriers had never qualified for an NCAA men’s tournament on the basketball court despite beginning play in 1896. Their women’s team made the cut once, in 2015. St. Francis had one of the east coast’s top water polo programs and were five-time NEC men’s soccer champions.
While it’s unclear how much advance notice players were given about the cuts, Monday’s announcement led to at least two transfer portal additions. Here’s guard Zion Bethea, whose retweet of his announcement marked his first Twitter activity in more than four years.
St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers Guard 6’4” Zion Bethea @_zionbethea has entered the transfer portal. Zion has 3 years of eligibility left he averaged this season ⬇️
10.7 PPG, 3.5 REB, 43.5 FG%,
42.2 3PT% https://t.co/zoricfGy6z pic.twitter.com/TN7LB1AFuk— 𝒜𝓃𝒹𝓇ℯ𝓌 𝒮𝓁𝒶𝓉ℯ𝓇 (@Andrew__Slater) March 20, 2023
Four-year starter Rob Higgins joined him soonafter.
With St. Francis – Brooklyn eliminating athletics, guard Rob Higgins, who scored over 1,000 points for the Terriers and over 2,000 points at Middletown North, is in the transfer portal.
— Steve Edelson (@steveedelsonapp) March 20, 2023
And Tedrick Wilcox put his 2022-23 highlight reel on Twitter roughly a week before the cuts went live.
Senior Highlights https://t.co/8pvX1TlTAJ
— Tedrick Wilcox Jr. (@TDAWilcox_3) March 13, 2023
Either way, it’s a brutal decision. While we’ve seen Idaho drop down from FBS to FCS competition and Hartford reclassify from Division I to Division III, the outright dismissal of all sports — with only a few months notice — is a stunning blow. St. Francis wasn’t a powerhouse, but it had been playing basketball for nearly 130 years. That tradition ends once the 2022-23 student athlete season ends.
