SFU Water Polo’s Grace Raquel: “These are real people.”
Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania recently announced its decision to reclassify from NCAA Division I to Division III, a move that has sent shockwaves through its athletic programs. Grace Raquel, a senior goalie for the women’s water polo team and a double major in psychology and business management currently pursuing her MBA, spoke with NEC Blitz about the human toll of this transition.
Raquel has recently authored a TikTok video breaking down the situation. You’ve likely seen it if you’ve been following us as we document the transition. While Saint Francis has an enrollment over under 2,000 students, the video has resonated widely, amassing 378,900 views by press time. The video- long by Tik Tok standards- sees Grace articulate the personal impact of the change and what she’s seen as a student at the University.
Raquel, like many of her teammates, earned a scholarship to play at the Division I level, which also supported her academic pursuits. However, with the university’s shift to Division III, athletic scholarships will no longer be offered. Current and incoming athletes face an impossible choice: they can retain their scholarships but must forgo playing their sport, or they can continue playing at the Division III level without financial support. “Once we turn D3, you can either choose to have that athletic scholarship or you can be ineligible to play”, Raquel explained.
The announcement came abruptly for most student-athletes. On Tuesday morning, the water polo team completed their regular lifting session and settled into homework when, at 11:19 AM, an email informed them of the reclassification. Just eleven minutes later, a campus-wide email followed, confirming the news. The team’s group chat erupted with reactions. Coaches, who had been briefed at a 10:00 AM meeting, had little time to prepare their teams before the emails went out. They were caught as unaware by the news as the students were.
The water polo team gathered at the pool to discuss the news with their coach, with many questions coming from the underclassmen whose scholarships and futures were now uncertain. An athletic department contact met with the team at 5:00 PM during practice, spending an hour addressing questions, though they did not have many of the answers at that time. It has since emerged that while the athletic department had been part of discussions for just two months, the administration had been contemplating this shift for several years.
For Raquel and her peers, the decision strikes at the core of why they chose Saint Francis. “Everywhere you go there’s someone [dressed in their team-issued gear]”, she said, highlighting the prevalence of student-athletes on campus and noting that Division I athletics had been a key differentiator for the university.
The fallout has been immediate. The transfer portal has seen a surge of Saint Francis athletes seeking new opportunities, though the water polo team must wait until May 5 to enter, complicating plans for international students and underclassmen. With five international players on the roster and only 34 Division I water polo programs nationwide. Many athletes, Raquel noted, came to the U.S. to play Division I, earn a degree, and pursue professional careers—goals now in jeopardy.
The team’s academic rigor adds another layer to the loss. Players major in demanding fields like general engineering, chemistry, nursing, civil engineering, exercise physiology, occupational therapy, physician assistant studies, environmental engineering, and business management. These are rigorous, competitive programs, and there’s certainly an argument that Saint Francis is losing academic talent that could have excelled anywhere. She described teammates who juggle 12-hour clinical rotations with practice, showcasing the unique balance of athletics and academics the university once fostered. “These are real people”, she said, pushing back against the common rebuttal that Saint Francis should have just been Division III in the first place, and so the change is no great tragedy. The argument falls apart as soon as you get a chance to see the real student-athletes that are impacted and forced into making impossible choices before they’re old enough to legally rent a car.
She noted that some of the negative comments on social media have been that the athletes were at Saint Francis because they couldn’t get into the top tier athletic programs. “No, we wanted the opportunity to have athletics and academics and that’s something Saint Francis gets to shine with,” she explained. In many schools across the country, athletes would be discouraged from pursuing nursing or physician assistant degrees while training at the Division I level. That was something that didn’t happen at Saint Francis, and a key reason why many of the athletes on the team chose that university.
The timing and communication of the decision have drawn scrutiny. At open forums separated by class year, students questioned why the announcement came so late in the academic year. Administrators cited a desire not to overshadow March Madness, but for athletes eyeing transfers, everyday counts. At a Thursday night Student Government Association meeting, Father Malachi reportedly permitted only three questions about the change, sidestepping two. A monthly town hall, typically held on Tuesday nights, was postponed from this coming Tuesday to late April, limiting opportunities for dialogue despite assurances of support and resources.
Raquel wishes administrators could look beyond the bottom line. While she understands it’s a business, the human element cannot be understated. She shared the story of a teammate who had just found her circle at Saint Francis, only to face transferring away from that group because she can no longer play Division I sports and pursue her dreams while at the university. The teams have worked tirelessly to improve, she said, and that progress has all been thrown away.
As several NEC schools grapple with similar discussions, Saint Francis’s handling of this transition- and the reaction to it from fans and students- could set a precedent. For now, athletes like Raquel are left navigating an uncertain future as the transition marches forward in Nowheresville, PA.
