St. Francis College - Athletics

Athletics

Main article: St. Francis Terriers See also: St. Francis Terriers men's basketball See also: St. Francis Terriers men's soccer

St. Francis competes in the NCAA's Northeast Conference. Their mascot is the Terrier and was officially adopted by the Athletic Association in 1933. Students participate in 19 Division I athletic teams, including men's and women's basketball, men's soccer, women's volleyball and the nationally ranked men's water polo team.

Several teams play at off-campus facilities. These include: the soccer team, which play at Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 5; the outdoor track team, which meets at Icahn Stadium; the indoor track team, which meets at the New Balance Track & Field Center; the golf team, which plays at the Dyker Beach Golf Course and the tennis team, which plays at the USTA National Tennis Center.

The St. Francis College men's basketball team, founded in 1896, is the oldest collegiate program in New York City. In the Terrier's 117 year history, they have won 5 regular season championships and have had 3 NIT bids. The Terrier's had their best season in 1955-56 under Daniel Lynch posting a record of 21-4 and reaching the NIT semi-finals. Then during Ron Ganulin's tenure as head coach, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the team recaptured momentum and was one of the better teams in the NEC; from 1998 through 2004, St. Francis posted a 78-36 conference record. At the time Ganulin's assistant was Glenn Braica, who is the current head coach as of 2010. Braica was most recently an assistant under Norm Roberts at St. John's University.

The SFC men's soccer team was founded in 1968 and joined the Northeast Conference in 1985. From 1968 to 2011, the Terriers have won 3 NEC regular season championships and 4 NEC tournament championships. The Terriers have also participated in four NCAA tournaments, their best showing came in 1978 when they made in to the Elite Eight. Since joining the NEC, the Terriers have had NCAA Tournament Play-In games on three occasions ('95, '96 and '98).

The St. Francis College Men's Water Polo club has enjoyed much success and is one of the better teams on the east coast. In consecutive years from 2004–2008, they've won the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships and the CWPA Northern Division Championships. The Terriers have finished between 1st and 4th in the Eastern Championships from 1999–2007. In 2005 they finished first and qualified for the NCAA National Championships and finished 4th at the Final Four. Again in 2010, the Terriers made it to the Final Four, finishing fourth and were ranked 10th in the country. In 2012, the men's Water Polo team won the Eastern Championship for the third time in the programs history and earned an NCAA final four birth. The Terriers also went on to defeat Air Force to win their first national tournament match for a third-place finish.