Saint Francis Boosts PAC to 12 Teams

Saint Francis University arrived at Presidents’ Athletic Conference media day on Aug. 4 as the league’s newest football member, pushing the conference to 12 teams for the first time. PAC commissioner Joe Onderko and league officials unveiled the 2026 preseason poll in Latrobe, where Washington & Jefferson was again picked first after winning the past two conference titles. Saint Francis is beginning conference play while it reclassifies from NCAA Division I to Division III, and its 2026 games will not count in the PAC standings. Washington & Jefferson collected 37 first-place votes and 497 points in the poll announced Tuesday. Mike Sirianni’s team went 8-0 in PAC play last season, finished 8-3 overall and reached the NCAA Division III playoffs for the program’s 28th postseason berth, according to the league and school releases. ### Why does Saint Francis count as the 12th football team if it is not in the standings? (pacathletics.org) Saint Francis will play an eight-game PAC schedule in 2026, but the conference said those games will not count in the standings while the school completes its reclassification. The school joined the PAC as part of its broader move out of Division I athletics, with competition in the new league beginning in the 2026-27 academic year. (pacathletics.org) Chris Villarrial, Saint Francis’ head coach, said at media day that the move has been a transition but not a change in how his staff approaches the sport. TribLive reported that Villarrial said, “It’s going to be a challenge for us every weekend,” while the school’s June schedule release said the Red Wolves “will not be eligible to compete in the post-season” in 2026. (pacathletics.org) ### How strong is Washington & Jefferson’s hold on the league entering 2026? Washington & Jefferson enters 2026 as the clear preseason favorite, but not by unanimity. Grove City was picked second with five first-place votes and 453 points, while Westminster was third with three first-place votes and 395 points. Case Western Reserve and Geneva rounded out the top five. (triblive.com) Mike Sirianni, entering his 24th season as W&J head coach in 2026, said the poll does not settle anything. “It means nothing though in terms of who is going to win the conference championship in 2026,” Sirianni said, adding that the league schedule will be “very interesting” because of the unbalanced format. TribLive reported that W&J returns seven starters on offense and six on defense from the 2025 team that recovered from an 0-2 start by winning its final eight regular-season games before a 38-32 first-round playoff loss to Susquehanna. (pacathletics.org) That returning core is the backdrop for the Presidents’ bid for a third straight PAC title. ### Which local Western Pennsylvania names show up on W&J’s roster? Antoine Smith, a senior defensive lineman from Pittsburgh’s Serra Catholic, represented W&J at media day after a 2025 season in which he posted 40 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and seven sacks, the PAC said. The conference release listed him as a first-team All-PAC selection, and W&J’s athletics site lists him on the 2026 roster. (triblive.com) W&J’s 2026 roster also includes a senior defensive lineman from Irwin, Pa., who attended Norwin and previously played at Grove City. The athletics site identifies that player as part of a roster that includes multiple Western Pennsylvania high school products, including players from Ringgold, Deer Lakes, Franklin Regional, Baldwin, South Fayette, Peters Township, Montour, Mars, Trinity and Mohawk. (pacathletics.org) ### What changes for weekly competition with another program in the mix? Joe Onderko said the PAC now has 12 football teams for the first time in its history, a milestone he highlighted at media day. TribLive reported that five coaches in the league are entering their first season as program heads, adding another layer of change to the 2026 race. (gopresidents.com) Sirianni said the expanded field and uneven scheduling add uncertainty to the title chase. Villarrial said Saint Francis expects “great competition” every weekend, and the school’s schedule release described the PAC race as a “dog fight,” though that characterization came from the university release rather than an independent league statement. (triblive.com) ### When will fans see the new setup on the field? Saint Francis opens its PAC schedule on Sept. 26 at home against Grove City, according to the school’s 2026 schedule release. The Red Wolves then travel to Hiram on Oct. 3, Case Western Reserve on Oct. 10 and Washington & Jefferson on Nov. 7. Washington & Jefferson opens its season Sept. 5 at Utica and hosts Keystone on Sept. 12 before beginning conference play later in the month. (pacathletics.org) The first W&J-Saint Francis meeting of this new arrangement is set for Nov. 7 in Washington, Pennsylvania. (gopresidents.com) (sfuathletics.com)