Franciscan University Barons Athletics

• Athletic Teams Established with Golf, Baseball, and Men's Basketball being the first three sports. -- Fall 1946
• John Lemal '55, Frank Cortez Sr., and Paul Carapellotti Sr. raise $10,000 to start building the football team -- Fall 1947
• Men's Basketball earns the George Mikan Award for Most Improved Team in the Country, as they register their first winning season in program history. -- March 1954
• Men's Basketball wins 29 games in route to an NAIA Elite Eight appearance. Paul Brownlee named Helms Foundation NAIA All-American to be the first All-American in school history -- March 1955
• Men's Basketball goes 24-1, including a 22 game winning streak to be named #1 Small School in the Nation by the United Press Board of Coaches at the end of the season -- March 1958
• 1972-73 Basketball team holds their opponents to 42.2 points per games, fewest in the nation amongst all small schools. -- March 1973
• With the passing of Title IX, Franciscan adds their first women's sport with women's basketball for the 1977-78 season -- June 1977
• Franciscan Women's Basketball wins District 22 NAIA Championship in their fourth season of intercollegiate competition -- March 1981
• Intercollegiate athletics terminated due to financial circumstances -- Summer 1981
• Strong Intramural programs established and grow large in number with them being the only sports activity offered -- Fall 1981- 2000
• Men's Rugby begins to be organized on campus, as students organize and  Naill O'Mahoney agrees to be their first coach -- Sept. 2000
• Franciscan Returns to NCAA Division III Athletics as a provisional member -- Fall 2007
• Franciscan joins the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference for the 2008-09 school year with the following sports: Men's & Women's Soccer, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Women's Volleyball, Men's & Women's Basketball, Baseball, Softball, and Men's & Women's Track*) * not in AMCC -- Fall 2008
• Franciscan wins their first Conference Championship, as a NCAA Division III school with Women's Cross Country winning the 2008 AMCC Championship -- Oct. 2008
• Men's Tennis added as an NCAA Division III program for the 2009-10 school year. -- Spring 2009
• Women's Tennis added as a NCAA Division III program for the 2010-11 school year -- Spring 2010
• Franciscan announces the addition of Women's Swimming & Diving as an NCAA Division III sport -- May 2011
• Franciscan Athletics is no longer a provisional NCAA Division III member, as the earn full-time member status -- June 2011
• Franciscan announces the addition of Men's and Women's Lacrosse for the 2013 season -- May 2012
• Bill Jones becomes first Division III athlete to earn All-American status with a 6th place finish in the 10K at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships -- May 2013
• Leo Herrmann named All-American by United Soccer Coaches after a stellar senior season -- Dec. 2017
• Grace Galligan become the first Women's All-American in Franciscan history with her 24th overall finish at the NCAA Cross Country National Championship -- Nov. 2018
• Women's Golf becomes the 20th varsity sport as it is announced to begin NCAA competition for the 2019-20 season -- June 2018
• Franciscan joins the Presidents' Athletic Conference as it's 10th Full-Time Member -- April 2019
• Liam Galligan becomes the first men's cross country runner to be named an All-American with his 25th place finish at the NCAA National Championship -- Nov. 2021
• Sean Hickey passes Jim Garrigan '74 to move into 3rd all-time in Men's Basketball scoring at Franciscan. Hickey joins two All-Americans, Paul Brownlee '56 and Jim Smith '58, as the top three scorers in school history -- Feb. 21, 2022
• Joseph James named All-American by USA Lacrosse to become the first Franciscan Men's Lacrosse All-American - May 2024
• Franciscan adds Men's Volleyball as its 21st varsity program set to begin NCAA competition in the Spring of 2027 - June 2025