The Saint Francis bowling team will compete in the Northeast Classic Tournament on January 19-21, 2024, in New Castle, Del., head coach Ashley Bingham announced Tuesday.

In a corresponding move, the Red Flash will not be traveling to the Intercollegiate Team Championships as initially planned in mid-March.

A primary reason to make the move was to guarantee an 10th regular season tournament on the season. The Northeast Classic is hosted by NEC foe Sacred Heart, while the United States Bowling Confederation hosts the ITC tournament, which requires teams to qualify for competition and has minimal influence on NCAA standings.

While the Red Flash will not be traveling to the ITC team tournament, coach Bingham has granted flexibility to the athletes who desire to compete in the Intercollegiate Singles Championships, a USBC tournament held on the same weekend as the team competition.

The Red Flash was set to make their third showing in the Intercollegiate Team Championships towards the end of the season, appearing in the tournament in 2013 and 2014. They placed sixth and seventh in their performances, missing the top-four cut to qualify for nationals. The top four teams from the ITC Sectional Tournaments advance to the national competition that takes place the weekend following the NCAA Championships.

Instead, the Red Flash will return from Christmas break a week earlier than expected, when they are set to face off against one of the largest fields in NCAA bowling history. Last season, Sacred Heart hosted 33 teams for the tournament, the second-largest bowling tournament in NCAA history. This season, at least 30 teams are set to compete, likely featuring teams from last year such as No. 1 Vanderbilt, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 14 McKendree and No. 15 Fairleigh Dickinson.

You can catch the Saint Francis bowling team before the end of the year when they compete at the second NEC regular season tournament in Mechanicsburg, Pa. The tournament will be live-streamed on the team's Facebook page, and the latest updates will be posted on the team's Facebook and X pages.

For more information on the Red Flash, visit sfuathletics.com and follow RedFlashBowling on Facebook, Instagram, and X.