Division II collegiate athletics will soon be played in the city of Scranton.
Lackawanna College will transition from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II, the school announced Thursday.
The change will bring more sports to the college's downtown campus, as Lackawanna becomes the first Division II program in Lackawanna or Luzerne counties.
“It's an incredible opportunity for our region, as much as it is for our students,” college President Jill Murray said.
The school, which last fall had its largest incoming class in its history, will join the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. PSAC includes 17 campuses in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Opponents will include Bloomsburg, East Stroudsburg, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Shippensburg and West Chester.
The Falcons will play in the conference starting in fall 2026. The first season will not be counted in the standings, with full membership expected in the next two or three years, said Steve Murray, conference commissioner.
Lackawanna will be the third institution nationally to transition from the junior college association directly to NCAA Division II and the first with a football program to do so, according to the conference.
“The transition to NCAA Division II really unlocks a lot of potential for our Lackawanna College students, and will make for a whole lot of fun games and great competition in every sport,” Jill Murray said.
College leaders called the move a “transformative moment,” as the school looks at ways to broaden offerings in both academics and athletics. The school currently offers men’s baseball, basketball, football, soccer and wrestling, and women’s basketball, soccer, softball, volleyball and wrestling.
“The men and women on our fields, courts and mats, these students give their all, training all year, mastering the fundamentals of their sport and lifting each other up,” said Erik Larson, college athletic director. “They deserve to be at a level that reflects those efforts.”
Lackawanna will start golf, tennis and cross country teams first, with other sports expected in future seasons. The school also plans to add athletic facilities and evaluate residential housing needs.
Growth of Lackawanna College
As of fall 2024, Lackawanna had a record 1,952 undergraduate students. As many schools have struggled with declining enrollment in recent years, Lackawanna has seen growth. Over the last decade, undergraduate enrollment has increased by 30%.
The college announced last year it will merge with Peirce College in Philadelphia and retain the Lackawanna College name — a move expected to be official Tuesday.
Originally a junior college, Lackawanna dropped “junior” from its name in 2001. The private school began offering bachelor’s degrees in 2017, and now offers eight bachelor’s degree programs and 25 associate degree programs, along with more than 30 continuing education and professional certificates. Along with its main Scranton campus, the college offers six other locations throughout northeast and central Pennsylvania.
Developing relationships on the football field
With 213 career victories, head football Coach Mark Duda is the active wins leader in the NJCAA. Over his 31 seasons as head coach, he’s produced more than 450 NCAA Division I scholarship recipients. More than 20 of his former players signed NFL contracts.
The 2025 season includes games in Michigan, Utah and Georgia. In the future, the Falcons will play teams closer to home, with the chance of developing rivalries and growing the fanbase.
“They get an opportunity to have a true conference to play in,” Duda explained. “That's really going to help them, from a consistency standpoint, and certainly the enjoyment of it would be more.”
Now players will have four or five years of athletic eligibility, instead of just two years with the junior college association.
“I cannot wait to coach at that level and to be able to stay with our kids longer,” Duda said.
‘To develop the friendship and a relationship with them is the most important thing, and now we get to develop that for four or five years. It is a godsend for us. … I can’t wait to get started.”
