St. Thomas Tommies football

St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies football
2024 St. Thomas Tommies football team
First season1904; 120 years ago (1904)
Athletic directorPhil Esten
Head coachGlenn Caruso
16th season, 151–28 (.844)
StadiumO'Shaughnessy Stadium
(capacity: 5,025)
Field surfaceTurf
LocationSaint Paul, Minnesota
NCAA divisionDivision I FCS
ConferencePioneer Football League[a]
All-time record593–239–24 (.707)
Conference titles22
Division III: 21
Division I: 1
Rivalries
ColorsPurple and gray[1]
   
MascotTommies
Websitetommiesports.com

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]

Conference championships

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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

Playoffs

[edit]

NCAA Division III

[edit]

The 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
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
Mary Hardin–Baylor
W, 47–8
W, 29–13
L, 10–24

Future non-conference opponents

[edit]

Future 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

[edit]
  1. ^ St. Thomas is ineligible to participate in the FCS postseason playoffs until 2025 due to NCAA Division I transition rules.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Athletic Brand Standards – The University of St. Thomas". March 3, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  2. ^ "Football Program Overview". The University of St. Thomas. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  3. ^ "MIAC Member Schools". Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  4. ^ "Gene's Blog: 75 years later, the Cigar Bowl remembered". The University of St. Thomas. 2024-01-01. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  5. ^ "St. Thomas 'Involuntarily' Removed From MIAC". CBS News. May 22, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "St. Thomas gets approval from NCAA to go Division I". Star Tribune. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  8. ^ "St. Thomas Tommies Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  9. ^ Campbell, Dave (November 17, 2022). "St. Thomas enjoys big jump to FCS after boot from D3 league". Associated Press. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
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