Saint Francis University

Saint Francis College was established in 1847 by six Franciscan teaching Brothers from Mountbellew, Ireland, who had been given land in Loretto by Michael O'Connor, the first Bishop of Pittsburgh, to establish a school.[4] The university was one of the first Catholic universities in the United States and the first Franciscan college in the nation. Although it originally only admitted males, it became one of the first Catholic Universities to become co-educational. Loretto is the site of the first English-language Roman Catholic settlement established west of the Allegheny Front, in what is now the United States, by Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin in 1799.

In 2001 Saint Francis College was approved to change to become a university by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and renamed to Saint Francis University.

Saint Francis University enrolls approximately 1,658 undergraduate students (of whom 1,392 are traditional students and 266 are continuing education students) and 527 graduate students.[5] The university offers 25 undergraduate majors and 7 graduate fields of study (including Physical Therapy, in which the university awards a doctorate) to its students.[4] The university maintains an average graduation rate of 70.3%.[2]

The main building for the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, which also has a number of smaller facilities across the local region, is located on campus. Also on the campus are The DiSepio Institute for Rural Health and Wellness,[6] the Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation (CSOR),[7] Center for Watershed Research & Service,[8] and The Institute for Contemporary Franciscan Life.[9]

Immergrün Golf Course is a semi-private, nine-hole, regulation-length 3,234-yard, par-36 course on rye grass located on the campus of Saint Francis University at 105 Saint Elizabeth Street. Immergrün has not been altered since Donald Ross built it for the steel magnate Charles M. Schwab in 1917.[10]

Saint Francis University also runs a campus at Ambialet France in the Midi-Pyrénées.[11] All classes are in English.

Athletically, Saint Francis competes in the NCAA's Northeast Conference. Their nickname is the Red Flash. The University has a total of 22 varsity sports teams, with nine men's teams and 13 women's programs all competing in NCAA Division I. Men's sports include basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, and track & field competing in the Northeast Conference and volleyball, which competes in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA); while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field and volleyball which compete in the Northeast Conference and field hockey which competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10). Saint Francis University will be adding Women's Water Polo in 2016-2017 school year as its 23 varsity sport at the Division 1 level. In addition to this, there are also two club sport teams, ice hockey and baseball.

• Tony Bova (1917–1973) – Pittsburgh Steelers 1942–1947; first in National Football League in 1943 in yards per catch
• Jeff Bower – former General Manager of the NBA's Detroit Pistons, former GM of New Orleans Hornets and head coach of Marist College men's basketball team[12][13]
• Captain Paul Boyton (1848–1924) - known as the Fearless Frogman, author, inventor, member of International Swimming Hall of Fame. He crossed the English Channel in 24 hours (1875). Boyton opened the first "permanent" amusement park in Chicago in 1894, as well as Sea Lion Park on Coney Island, New York in 1895, and Chutes Park in San Francisco, California in 1895.
• James Casorio (Master's Degree in 1995) – Representative Pennsylvania House of Representatives 1997–2010
• Robert Conway – Vice Admiral in United States Navy
• Dominic Joseph Mike Ryba (1903–1971) – known as the "One Man Team," he was a right-hander for the St. Louis Cardinals (1935–1938) and Boston Red Sox (1941–1946) and he pitched in the 1946 World Series.[14]
• Calvin Fowler (1940–2013) – 1968 Olympic gold medalist in men's basketball, captain of gold medal team at 1967 Pan American Games. ABA professional basketball player. Fowler was an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) All-America in 1967 and again in 1968 for Akron Goodyear Wingfoots[15]
• Mike Iuzzolino – former basketball player, played for NBA's Dallas Mavericks from 1991–1993
• Lorenzo Jerome - CFL defensive back
• Fred R. Klenner (1907–1984) – author and ground-breaking medical researcher in Vitamin C studies; received both BS and MS in biology from Saint Francis University
• Nick Kolarac – professional soccer player for Pittsburgh Riverhounds and St. Louis Ambush (2013-)
• John Michael Kudrick – Eastern Catholic prelate and the current bishop of Parma for the Byzantines
• Scott Layden – former president and general manager of the New York Knicks NBA basketball team and former GM of the Utah Jazz.[16]
• Brennan Manning (christened Richard Francis Xavier Manning) (1934–2013) – Christian author (e. g., The Ragamuffin Gospel), friar, priest and speaker
• John McCarthy (1916–1998) – college football All-American in 1941 at Saint Francis University and former starting quarterback in National Football League
• John A. Nagy – author on espionage and mutinies of the American Revolution
• John Naioti (1921–1990) – Pittsburgh Steelers 1942 and 1945 National Football League
• Josh Nebo (born 1997) - basketball player in the Israeli Premier League
• Steve Oroho – Republican Party politician, who has served since January 2008 in the New Jersey Senate, where he represents the 24th Legislative District
• Tadeusz Piotrowski – author and sociologist
• Teresa S. Polley – President and Chief Operating Officer of the Financial Accounting Foundation, organization responsible for oversight, administration and finances of Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), and their Advisory Councils
• Kevin Porter – former professional basketball player, held the record for the most assists in one game with 29 assists
• Charles M. Schwab (1862–1939) – industrialist; in 2011 Schwab was inducted in inaugural class of American Metal Market Steel Hall of Fame for his lifelong work in the US steel industry.
• Brian Sell – Distance runner and member of USA 2008 Olympic men's marathon team[17]
• Kent John Chabotar – professor of political science and the former president of Guilford College
• Maurice Stokes (1933–1970) – professional basketball player (Basketball Hall of Fame); the NBA Twyman–Stokes Teammate of the Year Award is named in his honor
• Thomas Joseph Tobin – current bishop of Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island
• Norm Van Lier (1947–2009) – nicknamed "Stormin' Norman," an NBA basketball player (1969–1979) for Chicago Bulls
• Russell Zguta – author and professor of Eastern Slavic culture

• Official website
• Saint Francis Athletics website