Butler softball coach Kara Sroka, center, talks to her team. Sroka is dismayed by recent actions at St. Francis University, her alma matter, that have impacted the softball team she once starred for. Submitted photo

When it came to softball at St. Francis University, Mars graduate and current Butler coach Kara Sroka was as good as it got.

A 2009 SFU graduate, Sroka left the Red Flash as their all-time leader in RBIs and ranked second in home runs and fifth in stolen bases. She led the North East Conference in home runs her junior year.

“We were building something back then,” Sroka said. “We were 9-39 my freshman year. When I left, we were on the verge of breaking through in the NEC. The team won a few championships a short time later.”

But much has changed since then.

The Red Flash nickname was changed to the Red Wolves earlier this month. Less than a year ago, St. Francis decided to move from Division I to Division III in athletics. This spring season marked its last in the NEC.

The Red Wolves begin play in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in the fall.

“Today is not about leaving behind the proud tradition that generations built here. It’s about honoring the legacy while building momentum for the future,” St. Francis athletic director Jim Brazill said in a prepared statement.

That future will not include athletic scholarships.

“It’s such a drastic move, one that was just dropped on the alumni and everyone else involved,” Sroka said. “I’ve talked to other alumni, and we just don’t get it. The athletic program had grown to 22 or 23 different sports. Why not pare down a few of those? Even going to Division II would have saved scholarships, and the PSAC would have been the place to go.

“Going to D-III, all of the athletic scholarships are revoked. Athletes are transferring out left and right. It costs triple the amount to go to school there compared to my years in college. Naturally, they’re going to seek scholarships elsewhere.”

According to St. Francis’ website, tuition for the 2026-27 school year will be $46,000 for full-time undergraduate students. That does not include room and food plans and other fees.

Losing numerous players to the transfer portal, St. Francis softball plummeted to a 5-42 record this spring.

“It’s sad,” Sroka said. “Not just what’s happening on the field, but opportunities for high school athletes to go to a great university and play are lost, as well.”

Sroka knows all about working with high school athletes. She’s spent more than 30 years playing or coaching softball. She led Vincentian to the WPIAL championship in 2010. She guided Team Pennsylvania to a second-place finish among 98 teams at the 2021 Scenic City Summer Showcase in Chattanooga, Tenn.

While at St. Francis, Sroka served on the Student Athletic Advisory Board. She earned a degree in English and secondary education.

“I visited a lot of schools,” she said of her own college recruitment. “I visited Kentucky and a lot of mid-majors. St. Francis was the place to be. It was an opportunity to play a Division I sport, get a great education and be close enough so my family could see me play. I absolutely loved my time there.

“Now it’s just another potential landing spot taken away from current high school athletes. I’m afraid this will become a trend. (Name, image and likeness) is killing the mid-majors. We’re not the money-makers, and that’s what the NCAA’s focus is on.”