The Franciscan University Athletic Department exists to advance the mission of the University by forming disciples, developing leaders, and pursuing excellence in an environment in which every detail honors Jesus Christ. Given numerous factors, including extensive exposure to the student body and broader community, the potential for Franciscan Athletics to foster an encounter with Christ and others; to inspire and animate conversion of life; and to enhance,galvanize, and promote community, is virtually unlimited.

The pillars of the Franciscan Athletic Department are Forming Disciples – Developing Leaders – Pursuing Excellence.

Regardless of the specific structural details of the program, the objective remains constant: maximize our ability to advance these pillars with transformational impact on the lives of student-athletes; instill virtue, leadership skill, grit, and a thoroughly Christian worldview that will endure into their personal vocations; and establish a culture of excellence that will permeate the entire program, student-body, staff, and faculty and propel the Franciscan ethos throughout the community and beyond.

In short, we seek to field highly competitive athletic programs that will serve as training ground and launching point for sending out mature, integrated disciples who will sanctify every sphere of human activity and will do it much more effectively for having been student-athletes at Franciscan University. At the same time, we seek to embody the values of Franciscan University as ambassadors to all who encounter the school through athletics.

Considering the importance to the community, Church, and the world of Franciscan University’s educational, formational, and evangelistic mission, we appreciate that the Athletic Department at Franciscan must be exceptional: It is a sizeable and highly visible arm of an institution that strives to be the greatest Catholic university on the planet.