NFF National Scholar-Athletes
Finance – 3.96 GPA
Head Coach: Kevin Donley | Athletics Director: Mike McCaffrey
Faculty Athletics Representative: Matt Hopf
Leading Saint Francis to back-to-back NAIA National Championships in 2016 and 2017 all while maintaining a 3.96 GPA, Piercen Harnish deservedly becomes the school’s first-ever NFF National Scholar-Athlete.
The Ossian, Indiana, native, was a 2017 First Team Academic All-American and two-time First Team Academic All-District selection. A 2017 NAIA National Scholar-Athlete, Harnish is expected to graduate in May 2019 with a degree in finance. A member of the Dean’s List, he is a two-time member of the Mid-States Football Association All-Academic Team.
This season, the three-year team captain is second on the team with 79 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss. Harnish was named the Mideast League Football Defensive Player of the week after posting 14 tackles and one forced fumble in a 27-19 win over St. Xavier (Ill.) on Sept. 22. The four-year starting linebacker has led Saint Francis to a 9-2 record and the No. 8 national ranking. Harnish and the Cougars will host No. 12 Baker (Kan.) in the quarterfinals of the 2018 NAIA Football Championship Series on Saturday, Nov. 24. He also received his fourth first team all-conference selection.
The Cougars’ all-time leader with 442 career tackles, Harnish boasts three of the top 10 single-season tackles performances in school history. A Second Team All-American in 2017, he was chosen as the VSN NAIA National Defensive Player of the Year. The only player in Saint Francis history to earn three first-team all-conference honors prior to his senior season, Harnish led the team in tackles in both 2015 and 2016. Harnish has led Saint Francis to a 47-4 overall record during his career, including two first-place finishes in the MSFA Mideast League (2015, 2017). After winning consecutive NAIA National Championships, Saint Francis finished the season at No. 1 nationally in 2016 and 2017 after finishing at No. 4 in 2015.
Selfless with his time off the field, Harnish has participated in team housebuilding missions to El Salvador and Jamaica while also working with the Fort Wayne Chapter of Forgotten Children. He also volunteers for a wheelchair basketball tournament for children and adults with disabilities, and he assisted at the Fort Wayne Treasure House, which provides furniture and clothing to the needy. As a husband and father, Harnish continues to impress with his ability to balance his time commitments. His brother Chandler, a former quarterback at Northern Illinois, was honored as an NFF National Scholar-Athlete in 2011.
