The Saint Francis Red Flash (NEC) extended the contract of head coach Chris Villarrial. Villarrial has an overall record of 60-86 and is 40-48 in the NEC during his 14 seasons with the program.
Before Villarrial arrived in Loretto, Saint Francis went 17-68 overall and 10-47 in the NEC under Dave Opfar from 2002 through 2009. The Red Flash didn’t finish in the top half of the NEC during that time. SFU started with 5 straight losing seasons under Villarrial including three consecutive 5-6 campaigns from 2012 through 2014. In 2015, the SFU went 6-4 overall to post its first winning season as a member of the FCS/I-AA since it joined in 1993. Villarrial earned NEC Coach of the Year Honors as a result of the team’s improvement.
The following season was even better with Saint Francis finishing in a first-place tie with Duquesne for the NEC title and receiving the automatic bid to the FCS playoffs due to the head-to-head victory over the Dukes. Saint Francis played a hard-fought game in their FCS playoff debut, falling 31-21 at Villanova in the first round. Once again, Villarrial was named NEC Coach of the Year in 2016.
Villarrial and Saint Francis would return to the FCS Playoffs a second time in 2022 with a perfect 7-0 NEC record. The Red Flash won 9 games in a row leading up to the FCS playoff first round matchup versus Delaware. The Red Flash lost 56-17 but it was the school’s best season in more than a century and Villarrial was named NEC Coach of the Year for the third time.
The 2025 season will be Saint Francis’s last chance to capture another win over the FBS. Villarrial and Saint Francis won 23-17 versus Kent State (MAC) in 2024 to capture the school’s first win against the FBS. This year, SFU will play against Louisiana-Monroe (Sun Belt) on Thursday, August 28 and Buffalo (MAC) on Saturday, September 6. Saint Francis is leaving the FCS and NCAA Division I following the 2025-26 academic year to compete in the NCAA Division III Presidents’ Athletic Conference starting in 2026-27.
Photo Credit to Saint Francis University Athletics
