Saint Francis Cougars


The Saint Francis Cougars is the athletic name of the teams that compete for the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. The teams compete in the NAIA's Crossroads League and the Mideast League of the Mid-States Football Association.

Conference sports

National Championship appearances

Basketball

The University of Saint Francis Cougars won their first NAIA Championship on March 16, 2010. The Cougars won the 2010 NAIA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament when they defeated Walsh University 67-66 at Pt. Lookout, Missouri. The Cougars entered the tourney as the 15th seed. For his success, head coach Jeff Rekeweg was named the 2010 NAIA National Coach of the Year. On April 19, 2010, after 14 seasons of guiding the Cougars, Rekeweg resigned to take the head coaches position at Northwood University, a NCAA Division II school located in Midland, Michigan.
The Cougars returned the following year to play in the championship game on March 15, 2011. That year, the Cougars were runners-up in the 2011 NAIA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament when the Cougars were defeated by Cornerstone 80-71. The Cougars entered the tourney as the 13th seed.

Football

Saint Francis named Kevin Donley the Cougars' head coach in 1997. After a year of preparation, Saint Francis began play, as Fort Wayne's first collegiate football program, in the 1998 season. Coach Donley led USF to a record of 2-8, their first and only losing football season.
Since that initial season, Saint Francis has risen to become one of the top programs in all of NAIA football. From the 1999 season through the 2013 season, Donley-led teams have lost 3 or fewer games each season. Eight teams have completed undefeated regular seasons, and 3 consecutive teams finished as national runners-up.
The Cougars made a 4th appearance in the national championship game in 2016, winning their first NAIA national title with their 38-17 win over Baker in the 2016 NAIA Football National Championship. The following season, 2017, the Cougars returned a 5th time and successfully defended their title by defeating Rinehardt by a score of 24-13 in the 2017 NAIA Football National Championship. The Cougars completed a 14-0 undefeated season. This was only the 5th time in NAIA history that the back-to-back championships has occurred.

Season-by-season record

Program statistics