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 Saint Francis University in 1892.
The name "Red Flash" is unique among NCAA Division I schools.
Classifications
The team has participated at the following levels.[citation needed]
1892–1950: N/A
1916, 1918, 1920–1921, 1932–1937, 1942–1946, 1954–1968: No team[2]: 64
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.[2]: 58–61
Joseph Laukaitis played for the Wyoming Cavalry (2014), Uniform number 95 and the Green Bay Blizzard (2015) Uniform number 94 of the Indoor Football League
saint, francis, flash, football, program, represents, intercollegiate, football, team, saint, francis, university, team, competes, ncaa, division, football, championship, subdivision, members, northeast, conference, school, first, football, team, fielded, 1892. The Saint Francis Red Flash football program represents the intercollegiate football team for Saint Francis University The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision FCS and are members of the Northeast Conference The school s first football team was fielded in 1892 2 64 The team plays its home games at the 3 500 seat DeGol Field They are coached by Chris Villarrial Saint Francis Red Flash2023 Saint Francis Red Flash football teamFirst season1892Head coachChris Villarrial 12th season 52 73 416 StadiumDeGol Field capacity 3 500 LocationLoretto PennsylvaniaNCAA divisionDivision I FCSConferenceNortheast ConferenceAll time record401 232 15 630 Conference titles2ColorsRed and white 1 WebsiteSFUathletics com Contents 1 History 1 1 Classifications 1 2 Conference memberships 2 Championships 2 1 Conference championships 3 Playoff results 3 1 Division I FCS 4 Notable former players 5 References 6 External linksHistory EditThe 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 Saint Francis University in 1892 The name Red Flash is unique among NCAA Division I schools Classifications Edit The team has participated at the following levels citation needed 1892 1950 N A 1916 1918 1920 1921 1932 1937 1942 1946 1954 1968 No team 2 64 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 FCSConference memberships Edit The team has been affiliated with the following conferences 2 58 61 1892 1953 Independent 1954 1968 No team 1969 1977 Independent 1978 1988 NCAA Division III independent 1989 1991 Atlantic Collegiate Football Conference NCAA Division III 1992 Division III Independent 1993 1995 NCAA Division I AA independent 1996 present Northeast Conference NCAA Division I AA FCS Championships EditConference championships Edit Year Coach Conference Record Conference record1991 Frank Pergolizzi Atlantic Collegiate Football Conference 6 3 3 02016 Chris Villarrial Northeast Conference 7 5 5 12022 9 3 7 0 Co championsPlayoff results EditDivision I FCS Edit The Red Flash have appeared in the FCS Playoffs two times Their record is 0 2 Year Round Opponent Result2016 First Round Villanova L 21 312022 First Round Delaware L 17 56Notable former players EditNotable alumni include Tony Bova 1917 1973 played in the NFL 1942 1947 Joseph Laukaitis played for the Wyoming Cavalry 2014 Uniform number 95 and the Green Bay Blizzard 2015 Uniform number 94 of the Indoor Football League George Magulick 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 1918 1981 played in the NFL 1945 1945 John Naioti 1921 1990 played in the NFL 1942 and 1945 Served in the military in 1943 and 1944 Joe Restic 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 1920 1988 played in the NFL 1945 1945 He was drafted as the 85th pick in 1944 3 Lorenzo Jerome NFL playerReferences Edit SFU Athletics Style Guide PDF May 11 2012 Retrieved April 6 2016 a b c 2016 SFU Football Media Guide PDF sfuathletics com Saint Francis Athletics 2016 Retrieved June 21 2017 Pro Football Reference comExternal links EditOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Saint Francis Red Flash football amp oldid 1134351670, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
