The St. Thomas Tommies football program represents University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Football began at the university in the late 1890s and the first official varsity intercollegiate games were played in 1904.[2] St. Thomas was a charter member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, formed in 1920.[3] The Tommies also appeared at the 1949 Cigar Bowl.[4] In 2019, the MIAC announced that St. Thomas would be "involuntarily removed" from the conference at the end of the spring 2021 athletic season citing "athletic competitive parity" concerns.[5][6] St. Thomas received approval from the NCAA to begin competing at the NCAA Division I FCS level as a member of the Pioneer Football League starting with the 2021 season and became the first program to jump from NCAA Division III to Division I FCS.[7]
| St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1904 | ||
| Athletic director | Phil Esten | ||
| Head coach | Glenn Caruso 16th season, 157–34 (.822) | ||
| Stadium | O'Shaughnessy Stadium (capacity: 5,025) | ||
| Field surface | Turf | ||
| Location | Saint Paul, Minnesota | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
| Conference | Pioneer Football League[a] | ||
| All-time record | 593–239–24 (.707) | ||
| Conference titles | 22 Division III: 21 Division I: 1 | ||
| Rivalries | |||
| Colors | Purple and gray[1] | ||
| Mascot | Tommies | ||
| Website | tommiesports.com | ||
Conference championships
edit| Year | Conference | Coach | Overall record | Conference record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922† | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) |
Joe Brandy | 8–1 | 4–0 |
| 1929 | Joe Boland | 7–2 | 4–2 | |
| 1930† | 7–2 | 5–0 | ||
| 1939 | Nic Musty | 5–3 | 4–1 | |
| 1941 | Willie Walsh | 7–1 | 5–0 | |
| 1942† | 8–0 | 5–0 | ||
| 1946† | Frank Deig | 4–3 | 3–1 | |
| 1947† | 4–3 | 4–0 | ||
| 1948† | 7–1–1 | 5–0 | ||
| 1949 | 6–2 | 6–0 | ||
| 1956 | 8–0 | 7–0 | ||
| 1973† | DuWayne Deitz | 9–1 | 6–1 | |
| 1979† | 6–3 | 6–2 | ||
| 1983 | Mark Dienhart | 9–2 | 9–0 | |
| 1990† | Vic Wallace | 8–3–1 | 7–2 | |
| 2010 | Glenn Caruso | 12–1 | 8–0 | |
| 2011 | 13–1 | 8–0 | ||
| 2012 | 14–1 | 8–0 | ||
| 2015 | 14–1 | 8–0 | ||
| 2016 | 12–1 | 8–0 | ||
| 2017 | 11–2 | 8–0 | ||
| 2019† | 8–2 | 7–1 | ||
| 2022* | Pioneer Football League (D-I FCS) |
10–1 | 8–0 |
† Co-champions
* Ineligible for FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division III
Postseason appearances
editNCAA Division III
editThe Tommies made nine appearances in the NCAA Division III football playoffs, with a combined record of 20–9.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | First Round Quarterfinals |
Wisconsin–Whitewater Central (IA) |
W, 24–23 L, 32–33 |
| 2009 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals |
Monmouth (IL) Coe Linfield |
W, 43–21 W, 34–7 L, 20–31 |
| 2010 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals |
Benedictine (IL) Linfield Bethel (MN) |
W, 57–10 W, 24–17 2OT L, 7–12 |
| 2011 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals |
St. Scholastica Monmouth (IL) St. John Fisher Wisconsin–Whitewater |
W, 48–2 W, 38–10 W, 45–10 L, 0–20 |
| 2012 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Stagg Bowl |
St. Norbert Elmhurst Hobart Wisconsin–Oshkosh Mount Union |
W, 48–17 W, 24–17 W, 47–7 W, 28–14 L, 10–28 |
| 2014 | First Round | Wartburg | L, 31–37 |
| 2015 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Stagg Bowl |
La Verne St. John's (MN) Wabash Linfield Mount Union |
W, 57–14 W, 38–19 W, 38–7 W, 38–17 L, 35–49 |
| 2016 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals |
Northwestern (MN) Coe Wisconsin–Oshkosh |
W, 43–0 W, 55–6 L, 31–34 |
| 2017 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals |
Eureka Berry (GA) Mary Hardin–Baylor |
W, 47–8 W, 29–13 L, 10–24 |
Future non-conference opponents
editFuture non-conference opponents announced as of January 23, 2023.[8]
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Iowa | Idaho | @ North Dakota | @ Idaho | Harvard | |
| Black Hills State | @ North Dakota State | Southern Utah | |||
| Sioux Falls | |||||
| @ Lindenwood |
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ "Athletic Brand Standards – The University of St. Thomas". March 3, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
- ^ "Football Program Overview". The University of St. Thomas. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
- ^ "MIAC Member Schools". Retrieved August 15, 2013.
- ^ "Gene's Blog: 75 years later, the Cigar Bowl remembered". The University of St. Thomas. 2024-01-01. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ "St. Thomas 'Involuntarily' Removed From MIAC". CBS News. May 22, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ Vannini, Chris (May 22, 2019). "The school that won too much: Why St. Thomas was 'involuntarily removed' from the MIAC". The Athletic. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ "St. Thomas gets approval from NCAA to go Division I". Star Tribune. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ "St. Thomas Tommies Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
- ^ Campbell, Dave (November 17, 2022). "St. Thomas enjoys big jump to FCS after boot from D3 league". Associated Press. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
External links
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