University of Scranton

Since starting out by playing a football game on Thanksgiving Day in 1892, the University has had a long and successful athletic history.

In its history, the university has won three national championships…

-Two Men’s Basketball Championships (1976 and 1983)

-One Women’s Basketball Championship (1985)

Along with that, they have had seventeen Final Four appearances,

-Nine in Women's basketball

-Four in both Men's Soccer and Basketball

They have also won 104 conference championships and appeared in the NCAA tournament 88 times.

Popular Royal Myths...

We used to be DI...

Scranton was never Division I as some people like to say. Prior to 1973, there were no divisions and institutions could make schedules as they saw fit. That led to Scranton playing bigger schools like Villanova and St. Johns. Even before 1973 it was apparent Scranton couldn’t compete with them, and they were gradually dropped off the schedule.

Our football teams been undefeated since 1960...

Hahaha. Yes that's true, Scranton hasn't fielded a football team since 1960. The program had been losing money for a number of years due to a lack of attendance. Rev. John J. Long, the president at the time, decided that it was time to shut the program down. Overall, the program finished with a record of 164-110-19. An intramural team would continue to be fielded into the 1970's. For more information on the history of the football team, visit http://digitalservices.scranton.edu/ui/custom/default/collection/coll_p9000coll7/resources/custompages/athletics/footballhistory.php

Should the University of Scranton be Division III?

A Division I team may get to fly to a game on a plane, eat at nice restaurants and have access to the better facilities. But, at a Division III school, like Scranton, there are certain advantages as well. First of all, there is a myth that every Division I athlete is on a full ride. That is completely false. With the exception of men's and women's basketball and football, there are very few full rides available. For example, according to the NCAA, a Division I baseball team is allowed a maximum of 11.7 scholarships, to be divided over 27 people. Keep in mind that there are usually about 40 guys on a team, meaning that thirteen don't get any scholarship money at all! Similar scholarship caps apply across other sports too, meaning that most Division I athletes are trying to scrape by with loans, grants, academic scholarships and their parents savings - just like Division III athletes.

Division III has a special focus on academics that is just not seen at the Division I level. There are no paper classes at the University of Scranton. Student-athletes are expected to go to class, and if they don't there are consequences. Education is the most important part of the Division III experience. That's not to say that Division I also doesn't have academic success as a goal, but sometimes that message gets muddied in the urge to win. But, by far the best part about Division III athletics is the community aspect. All Division III athletes, especially at Scranton, experience a bond that just does not happen at a major Division I school. At Division I, athletes are isolated and exposed only to those on their own teams. At Scranton, everyone shares the same weight room and trainers, and when one of the universities teams wins, people who play other sports are genuinely happy for them. Its these intangibles, the ones that don't show up in the numbers and graphs, that make Division III athletics special, and a worthwhile place for the University of Scranton.

After talking to Dave Martin, the Athletic Director at Scranton, our conclusion that it was beneficial to be a Division III school was further strengthened. Admittedly, Coach Martin said he was biased, noting that he had been in Division III athletics his whole career, but as he said, there are no disadvantages to being Division III. It's the best of both worlds for student-athletes. They get to play collegiate sports at a high level, while still having time to focus on academics and having a little bit of a social life. Though there might not be money on the same scale as Division I institutions, the facilities at the university are certainly not shabby. He pointed out the new $14 million dollar South Side Athletic complex and the renovation of the weight room in the Long Center. He said that they could chose to advance to a higher division, but that there was no point. The competition at the current level is excellent, and the Royals have been having success year in and year out. So, for the foreseeable future, the University of Scranton will happily be a Division III institution.