The St. Thomas Dance Team has just completed the two-minute routine it has been preparing for since its auditions in April. Dancers wait on stage at Disney’s Wide World of Sports next to the seven other Open Division teams that made it to the final round of competition in the jazz category. Hands clasped and eyes closed, they wait as teams are announced in reverse order of where they placed.

In third place: longtime rival and consummate contender Lidenwood College from Missouri. In second: regional peer College of Saint Benedict. There is only one team left to call.

According to sophomore Annie Lindberg, the most exciting moment is when second place is announced. “You want to jump up and down but you also want to be respectful of the other teams,” she said.

But when the Tommies are called, “it’s instant tears.”

Alex Brown and Julia Randall

Samantha Maroney

Ensuring there is time for homework is critical. Ulfers requires the dancers to maintain a 2.5 GPA to stay eligible for the team. “Their primary role is to be students first. That’s why they’re here,” she said.

In addition to maintaining good grades, school spirit also remains a priority. Ulfers sees it as the team’s primary commitment. “After academics, our first responsibility to St. Thomas is to be supporting athletics,” she said. It’s a responsibility the dancers take seriously, but also one in which they take great pride.

Perdew recalls performing at football games as one of the highlights on the team. “You are proud when you’re out there because it’s such a great school, such a great team,” she said. “The football team especially talks about being one big family. We feel like we get to be part of that family on game days too.”

Maroney says that the pre-game festivities that were new this year helped raise the team’s profile: “We got to talk to alumni and their kids before games and hear about how much they love to watch us perform. We would never have gotten to do that without the pre-game parties on the plaza.”

While school spirit obligations keep them busy throughout the fall, it also is the time of year that the dancers begin preparing for competition by meeting with choreographers and learning the routines they will bring to nationals. Another reason the team has been so successful, according to Ulfers, is that each year she tries to bring something innovative or different – an ironic notion, considering the team has used the same jazz choreographer for nine years, former Tommie dancer Rachel (Brenk) Doran ’07.

“Ever since she was a sophomore on our team, Rachel has been an innovator,” Ulfers said. “Besides producing beautiful choreography, she understands the scoresheet we’re judged on and makes sure to include elements that help maximize our points.”

Alex Brown

For this season’s hip-hop routine, Ulfers was looking for something new that would challenge the team. She was not disappointed. The complex choreography from Shandon Kolberg called for intricate footwork and gravity-cheating lifts and tricks that were completely new to the dancers. “When they first learned their hip-hop dance, they truly couldn’t do it,” Ulfers said. “It makes me that much more proud of our second-place finish knowing how far they’ve come with the routine.”

Back at practice, injuries are checked. Maroney applies an Icy Hot patch to her neck as Ulfers asks, “How’s it feeling? Make sure you take it easy.” It’s an unfortunate necessity in the dance community to dance through the pain. The competitive nature of the sport often teaches dancers to perform even when they are injured because there’s always someone out there willing to take your place. But while some teams operate under the assumption that everyone is replaceable, the Tommies don’t subscribe to that notion.

Wood found that out during the final week before nationals when executing one of the difficult lifts in the team’s hip-hop routine. She was nearly sidelined by a shoulder injury, and her doctor recommended she rest. Her teammates were a motivation in pushing through the pain.

Samantha Maroney, Kelly Olson and Julie Randall lift Morgan McGowan.

John Tauer, Ph.D.

As the head men’s basketball coach at the University of St. Thomas, I feel blessed and honored to work with an amazing group of players and coaches. This past season, we had a 30-2 record, tied a school record for wins, won an unprecedented 8th consecutive MIAC championship, and advanced to the Division III Final Four for the third time in school history. More important than the records and statistics are the life lessons we aim to teach our players. Some of these lessons include:

• How we respond to failure and mistakes helps us grow, prepares us for adversity, and defines who we are.
• Controlling our emotions is an important skill in life, particularly in frustrating situations.
• We win as a team and lose as a team.
• Intrinsic motivation is better than extrinsic motivation. Approach-oriented motivation is better than avoidance motivation. Finding areas in life that allow us to be passionate and work well with others is invaluable.

In the Rutgers video footage, we see a coach showing his players that failure is not an option, and that mistakes will be punished both physically and verbally. Undoubtedly, players developed a fear of failure (and of their coach). Based on the video and interviews, it is clear Mike Rice’s behavior toward his players was consistently demeaning and aggressive toward his players. How and why were Mike Rice’s actions allowed to occur over time? Understanding the conditions which allowed this hostile environment to take place is important to prevent future situations similar to the one at Rutgers University. Let’s consider the situation from a number of different perspectives.

Why would a coach act like this? Learned Aggression
The research on aggression indicates there are both biological and environmental correlates of aggression. Without knowing Mike Rice’s DNA, it is a safe bet that he learned some of this behavior from other coaches. Rice was a longtime assistant coach, and it seems likely that at least one of his mentors engaged in similar behavior. In working to motivate his players, Coach Rice must have thought they required physical and mental abuse/fear in order to get them to play as hard as he wanted them to play. This approach flies in the face of the research on intrinsic motivation and long-term sustainable performance.

Why would players not turn on their coach? Obedience to Authority
Classic studies on obedience to authority conducted by Stanley Milgram at Yale University in the 1960s demonstrated how quickly and easily average people will obey an authority figure. In one version of Milgram’s study, 65 percent of participants shocked a stranger to a level that could have been fatal (no shocks were actually administered as the stranger was in a different room). The takeaway from this study was that authority figures can abuse their power, yet rarely will others stand up to the person in power.

Players on the Rutgers team undoubtedly disliked how they were treated in practice. However, for non-New Jersey residents, tuition, room and board at Rutgers at a cost of $37,805 per year (or $151,220 over four years), would be a large incentive to stay quiet and avoid risking a scholarship. Furthermore, blowing the whistle on Mike Rice could have led to an ugly situation that, depending on the outcome, could have led to the player leaving Rutgers and struggling to find another school at which to play basketball.

Why would the athletic director not fire the coach immediately upon seeing the video?
Athletic Director Pernetti saw the video yet chose not to fire Mike Rice; rather, he chose to suspend him for three games, fine him and instruct him to attend anger management classes. Pernetti may have thought he could help rehabilitate Rice, but Pernetti also may have been avoiding conflict, hoping to resolve the issue quietly and not draw attention to an athletic program that had more than its share of issues recently.

Why was the public so outraged?
When the video of Mike Rice throwing basketballs at players in practice hit the internet, public outcry was quick to follow. We have an image of how we hope coaches treat players, yet all too often the “Win at all costs” mindset seems to trump all. Why did videos like this not surface 10+ years ago? In part, because videos such as this would be more difficult to obtain and even more difficult to distribute so readily. Mike Rice is not the first coach to treat his players poorly, nor is he the first coach to use fear, vulgar language, and physical abuse as tactics to motivate his players.

Read John Feinstein’s book, A Season on the Brink about Bobby Knight at Indiana University in the 1980s and it is clear Mike Rice is not the first coach to treat his players poorly. Had there been videos of Bobby Knight doing the things Feinstein reported in his book, and an internet to spread those videos like wildfire, my hunch is Coach Knight may have had a more difficult time keeping his job as long as he did in Indiana. Furthermore, I am certain that coaches across the country engage in questionable actions as they seek to motivate, compel and push the right buttons to get their players to play hard and excel. There is certainly a fine line, as athletics are an emotional endeavor, and many coaches walk a tightrope between controlled passion and aggression and uncontrolled physical and mental outbursts. That line can be the difference between an intense, fiery coach such as Rick Pitino winning a national championship with Louisville and an intense, fiery coach such as Mike Rice being fired from Rutgers.

What is the greatest danger stemming from the Rutgers saga? The Fundamental Attribution Error
After the tragic terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, it was easy to think that if we captured Osama Bin Laden, the world would be safe again. The truly frightening reality was that there were likely thousands upon thousands of individuals who felt the same way Osama bin Laden did about America.

Along these same lines, it feels much cleaner if we believe that now that Mike Rice has been fired, we can go back to believing the “bad coach” is gone and only good ones remain. What is much more frightening is if there are hundreds, or thousands, of Mike Rices out there coaching college and high school sports. Mike Rice learned this behavior from somewhere. It seems unlikely that he is the only one of thousands of college coaches and tens of thousands of high school coaches to employ these types of coaching methods.

The Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE) occurs when we underestimate the power of a situation while simultaneously overestimating the role of one’s personality in discerning the causes of a behavior. In this case, we likely commit the FAE when we overlook the powerful win-at-all-costs mentality that, when combined with the ultracompetitive world of sports helps us understand that Mike Rice was likely innately aggressive as an individual, became more aggressive in part due to what he learned from other coaches , implemented an aggressive coaching style because he believed that behavior motivated players, and did all of this in part due to an environment that allowed and encouraged aggression.

The real shame of the Rutgers basketball saga will be if the public does not engage in a conversation that revisits the true goals of sports, the best practices for teaching and motivating student-athletes, and a broad view of the culture of sports, and why this culture may be a breeding ground for ultracompetitive fear-based motivation that undermines the very goals sports aims to teach. Until that time, unfortunately, the madness of sports will not be limited solely to the month of March.

John Tauer is an associate professor of psychology and head men’s basketball coach at St. Thomas. 

As Dayton greeted the team in the foyer of the Minnesota Governor’s Residence, head coach Thanh Pham gave him a purple Tommie volleyball national championship T-shirt. According to Dayton, “Purple is my favorite color.”

Dayton commented on how he invites national championship teams of all sports to the mansion on Summit Avenue, mentioning the Minnesota Lynx, who won the WNBA championship in 2011. “But I’ve never had a men’s team here,” he said.

Dayton shows off his new St. Thomas volleyball national champions T-shirt. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)

After a tour of the residence on which the team met the governor’s German shepherds Wanamingo and Itasca, breakfast was served in the solarium, a room that was once visited by Eleanor Roosevelt. Dayton sat across from Pham, who recalled the environment in the arena as the Tommies took on Calvin College in the national championship in November.

“They had about 3,500 fans there. We had about 60, but they were a loud 60,” Pham said. The game took place at Hope College in Holland, Mich., about a half-hour from Calvin’s campus. Dayton commented, “So it was basically a home game for them.”

Having the opportunity to meet the governor was a special experience for the team, according to Pham: “Winning the championship has allowed us to do some fun things and meet so many new people. Meeting the governor is definitely something the girls will never forget.”

Pham was also impressed seeing his players off the court in more of a social setting: “To get to see them interact with each other and other people gives me a whole different perspective. It reminds me that they will be professionals in something other than volleyball someday.”

Senior Kia Johnson described meeting the governor as an honor. “Getting to do something like this shows how all our hard work has paid off,” she said.

Kia Johnson shakes hands with Dayton. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)

Junior Nicole Potts recognized the breakfast as a once in a lifetime opportunity. “Although, I suppose we could meet him again next year,” she said. “This seems like a place that you always just drive by and wonder what it’s like inside.”

Sophomore Sydney Westfield thought it was a rare experience as well. “Not many people get to meet him, let alone have breakfast with him,” she said.

Sophomore and the national tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award winner Jill Greenfield found Dayton to be very personable: “He took the time to get to know each one of and ask us where we are from.”

As the team said goodbye to Dayton, Greenfield shook his hand and said, “Purple looks good on you.”

In the 2012 season, the Tommies posted a 40-1 record, an all-time conference best for victories and winning percentage in volleyball. During the national tournament, the Tommies became the second team in the 32-year history of D-III nationals to rally from a 2-0 set deficit and win the last three sets of the championship match.

“In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.” Pop artist Andy Warhol made that prediction in the 1960s, and in 2013 that prediction came true for Zachary Sikich ’05. On Tuesday, March 12, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, he suited up for the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks – for 15 minutes.

Actually, Sikich may not have received his full 15 minutes. He estimated that his time on the Ducks’ bench was more like 12 to 14 minutes. Still, he was in the NHL with the Ducks, who were taking on the Minnesota Wild that night.

The Ducks won 2-1, but Sikich also won. He made it to the NHL, a goal that Sikich had set for himself years earlier. After playing three seasons for St. Thomas, Sikich played three years of minor league hockey in an effort to get to the NHL. Along the way he made stops in Fraser, Michigan; Jacksonville, Fla.; Long Beach, Calif., Danbury, Conn.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Phoenix, Ariz., Elmira, N.Y., Quebec, Canada, and – as if he hadn’t traveled enough – Beijing, China.

Sikich blocks a shot during the 2005 championship game. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)

On March 12, deep within the Xcel, and just minutes east of St. Thomas’ St. Paul campus, Sikich suited up for the Ducks as the back-up goalie to replace Viktor Fasth, who was out with an injury. He knew that his stint with the Ducks might not last long. Head coach Bruce Boudreau told him that goalie Jeff DeLauriers had been called up from the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL, a Ducks’ farm team, and that DeLauriers might arrive during the game.

DeLauriers arrived early in the first period, and Sikich’s 15 minutes came to an end. Sikich left the bench, showered, brought his equipment to his car with the help of a valet, and then from the Xcel press box watched the rest of the game when he wasn’t being interviewed by various media.

Still, it was an exciting experience. Everyone in the Ducks organization – from the equipment manager to the head coach – made him feel welcome and “connected” to the team, Sikich said. He had skated with the Ducks in practice a year ago when they were in town and needed a fill-in goalie, so he was not unknown to the Ducks. Many of the players remembered him and welcomed him as the team prepared to take on the Wild.

Boudreau told Sikich that he had hoped the Ducks could establish a safe lead so he could give him a few minutes of ice time late in the game, Sikich said, but with DeLauriers’ early arrival, that was not to be. Still, Sikich left with a nice paycheck, his Ducks’ No. 31 jersey and NHL memories.

The Ducks can count on him for future emergencies, too, as he gets plenty of practice time as founder of ProHybrid Training, which specializes in training goalies both on and off the ice – goalies who, no doubt, have dreams of playing in the NHL someday.

2008-09? Unselfish, he says. The undersized team with no starter over 6-foot-4 outscored opponents by an average of 19 points and went 30-0 before losing to eventual national champion Washington University of St. Louis. The core included seniors Al McCoy, Lonnie Robinson, B.J. Viau and Brett Tuma, the first three as starters.

2010-11? Unselfish, Tauer says again. The 30-3 team wasn’t as dominant statistically as two years earlier but got on a roll at the right time and won its last 12 games, including the 78-54 finale over Wooster in Salem to win the national championship. Four seniors – Tyler Nicolai, Alex Healy, Teddy Archer and Anders Halvorsen – started every game alongside junior Tommy Hannon, and senior Brady Ervin came off the bench for 19 minutes a game.

2012-13? Unselfish, Tauer says one more time. The 29-1 Tommies are led by seniors Hannon, John Nance, Will DeBerg, Noah Kaiser and Drew Mathews. They lead the country in scoring margin (21.1) and field goal percentage (.527), and are No. 3 in 3-point proficiency (.427), but no player finished among the top 15 in MIAC scoring average.

Tauer pauses to reflect on inevitable comparisons between the trio of Elite Eight teams and throws in an adverb to embellish his “unselfish” description.

“Three things characterized all three teams,” he said. “They had senior leaders who were incredibly unselfish and set an unbelievable example. Actions always speak louder than words. Tyler never said, ‘This is how we play.’ He just played that way. And it caught on.”

Tauer expects to see more of the same unselfish play beginning Friday, March 22, when the top-ranked Tommies face No. 8 Williams at 11 a.m. (Watch the game live.) The winner will meet the St. Mary’s (Md.) and Mary Hardin-Baylor survivor at 5 p.m. Saturday to advance to the title game April 7 in Atlanta.

Balance Comes Through

Unselfishness usually translates to balance when it comes to scoring, as do Tauer’s deep bench and the second-year coach’s penchant for an up-tempo game and pressure defense:

• DeBerg’s 12.5 points per game leads a team that has averaged 81.3 points a game, just 1.4 points off the school record of 82.7 set in 1973-74 by the legendary Terry Mikan-Bob Rosier team. Hannon follows at 11.4, Nance at 9.6 and junior Zach Riedeman at 9.1.
• The starters have combined for 47.3 points a game, meaning the bench scores 34. Starters averaged 48.3 in 2008-09 and 52.9 in 2010-11.
• Nance and DeBerg are the only players who have logged more than 700 minutes – or 28 per game – and 11 players average 10 or more minutes a game.
• Nationally, only one player ranks in the top 100 in any individual statistical category: DeBerg is No. 95 in 3-pointers per game at 2.38.

“It took until the final week for one of our guys (Hannon) to win MIAC Player of the Week, and then we got it because we won the playoffs,” Tauer said. “But they don’t care! It’s how we do as a team that concerns these guys. It’s pretty (here comes that word again…) unselfish.”

Stats Revealing

Holding records of 51-8 overall and 8-1 in the postseason during his two years as coach, Tauer exudes quiet confidence heading into the matchup against Williams. His team is riding a 13-game winning streak since losing its only game 54-52 to Concordia two months ago in Moorhead and has loads of playoff experience – 21-4 in MIAC and NCAA playoff games since 2009.

Coach pic“I like two statistics about this team,” he said. “We are No. 1 in Division III in field goal percentage (.527), meaning we are taking good shots, and we are No. 2 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.62). We play hard, we play smart and we play together.”

The men’s team took the MIAC Championship this year, earning them a place in the NCAA playoffs. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)

The Tommies’ ranking and pursuit of a record eighth straight MIAC regular season title have left targets on their backs all year long. Tauer marvels at their maturity in handling both game-to-game expectations and tense moments such as last Saturday’s 63-62 Sweet Sixteen win when the Calvin player who had scored 31 points missed a shot before the buzzer.

“It’s how they handle physiological arousal,” said Tauer, who also is a psychology professor. “Guys laugh when I use those words, which have to do with how your nervous system responds and your heart beating faster. Some players thrive on it and some shy away from it.

“These guys like it! We talk all year about competing for a national championship, and that grows on them. It also helps that we recruit players from winning teams. They are used to playing in big games in the state tournament or sectional finals.”

One might think the emphasis on balance and knowing they have to wait their turn might dissuade star players from enrolling at St. Thomas, but Tauer hasn’t found that to be the case.

“We are up front with guys,” he said. “We recruit excellent players who we know will be good teammates, and we tell them that we expect to win a lot of games and that they’ll get a degree from a great university.”

Senior Influence

Tauer eventually turns the conversation back to one of his favorite topics – his five seniors – and extols their contributions:

• Kaiser, 6-foot-5 forward, Henry Sibley: He started the first 12 games but sat out eight games after a hand injury and hasn’t returned to the starting lineup. “He accepted that as being best for the team,” Tauer said. “It demonstrates what I mean when I say this team is unselfish.”
• Nance, 6-foot-4 forward, Cretin-Derham Hall: He has become the team’s best defender and an effective passer who leads the team in assists (75), steals (46) and blocks (12) while hitting 55 percent of his shots from the field.
• Hannon, 6-foot-8 center, Cretin-Derham Hall: A knee injury sidelined him for the 2011-12 season after nine games, and there were questions whether he could recover and be effective in his final year. He has responded with a season almost identical to 2010-11, when he averaged 12.2 points and 6.7 rebounds a game and won a spot on the All-Final Four Team.
• DeBerg, 6-foot guard, Edina: The two-year all-MIAC sharpshooter leads St. Thomas with 69 3-pointers, nearly twice as many as anyone else, and Tauer says he has played tougher defense.
• Mathews, 6-foot-4 forward, Faribault Bethlehem Academy: He has played 36 minutes in 11 games, with six points and four steals. After appearing in only 13 games last year and undergoing hip surgery over the summer, many didn’t expect him to return. “But he did,” Tauer said. “He couldn’t play right away, but he came to practice every day the first two months. Young guys see that and it makes an impression because it’s so unselfish.”

This story originally published at TommieSports.com.

The top-ranked Tommies (29-1) will face Williams College (Mass.) at noon (EDT) Friday, March 22, in the Elite Eight round. If they win on Friday, they will play in the semifinals at 6 p.m. (EDT) Saturday for the right to advance to the championship game April 7 in Atlanta.

Individuals who need travel assistance can call Creative Charters at (651) 748-0080. Game ticket packages for all sessions are available ($25 for adults and $12.50 for students) through the Department of Athletics and JoAnn Andregg at (651) 962-5902. Game tickets also can be purchased from the Salem Civic Center, (540-375-3004), or at the box office there.

If St. Thomas wins both games this weekend, the Tommie Club will attempt to schedule a charter flight for the Division III title game in Atlanta.

For more Division III playoff information, visit the NCAA or www.d3hoops.com.

The $2 million project on the northwest corner of Cretin and Goodrich avenues will begin in mid-May after the softball season ends and will conclude by Aug. 1 before players on the men’s and women’s soccer teams arrive for preseason practices. The field also will be in high demand for general student use.

Donors have made cash gifts and pledges as part of the Opening Doors capital campaign to cover the entire cost of the project, said athletics director Steve Fritz.

“This is another great example of where alumni and friends have stepped up with contributions to improve the quality of our facilities,” Fritz said. “We also saw this when we installed artificial turf on Palmer Field in O’Shaughnessy Stadium (2004) and the baseball infield on Koch Diamond (2005). The improvements allowed far greater use of those surfaces because of the time needed to maintain grass as a playable surface.”

The layout of the South Field will not change. The soccer field will continue to occupy the western two thirds of the site and run north-south, and the softball field will be in the northeastern third. New bleachers for soccer fans will be installed on the west side at midfield, just east of Binz Refectory. No lights will be installed for the field.

The project essentially will involve scraping off 14 inches of grass and soil and replacing them with aggregate materials topped by artificial turf.

St. Thomas will prepare and review a construction management plan with the West Summit Neighborhood Advisory Committee, as it has on construction projects over the past decade. The plan will address issues such as dust mitigation and construction truck traffic.

“This is another testament to the university’s commitment to provide a first-class student-athlete experience,” said men’s soccer coach Jon Lowery. “It will prove to be invaluable in the development and recruitment of our current and future student athletes.”

Tommie women’s head coach Sheila McGill added, “The women’s soccer team is extremely excited to have this project underway. It will improve our field condition and consistency throughout the season, and provide an exciting game day environment.”

Softball coach John Tschida sees savings in time and money and calls it a safer surface for sliding and infield practice. He also said it will spruce up the South Campus, providing “a more vibrant feel and giving it a splash of color and school spirit.”

“There are many benefits,” Tschida said. “We’ll save 90 minutes of field maintenance each day that our team has been responsible for, as well as the hours our field maintenance staff spends cutting the grass and lining it for games and practices. In our sport, it gives us a better chance of playing in inclement weather, and there will be less dirt and dust blowing around campus and the neighborhood on windy days.”

South Field artificial turf site plan: Cretin Avenue is on the east (right) side, Goodrich Avenue on the south (bottom). McCarthy Gym and the Anderson Parking Facility are on the north (top) side. (Click to enlarge.)

Dr. John Tauer

During their four years, they have been a part of four MIAC championships, bringing our streak to a record of eight consecutive regular-season titles. They also were part of the program in 2011 when we won the national championship. Over the past four years, our overall record is 98-15 with an MIAC record of 70-9, giving St. Thomas more wins than any other team in the country during that time. This season, we are 23-1 and ranked No. 1 in Division III.

But as impressive as their team and individual records are, these five seniors are even better people.

Will DeBerg came to St. Thomas as a star shooting guard from Edina High School. Will worked diligently his first two years, playing on the national title team as a reserve. As a junior, Will was named all-conference and developed a reputation as a long-range marksman. This year, he has emerged as a leader and captain. A gym rat who can be found in the AARC at all hours, Will is a business major with an entrepreneurial spirit, starting his own basketball camps in Edina.

Noah Kaiser attended Henry Sibley High School, where he helped lead his team to the state finals in 2008. He transferred to St. Thomas from St. John’s and earned court time for his unselfish play. Over the past four years, Noah has been a steadying influence, dazzling fans with his passing and leading the MIAC in field goal percentage in 2011-12. Noah is an accounting major who will graduate with honors this spring.

John Nance is a Cretin-Derham Hall graduate. After playing football for the University of Minnesota for a year, he transferred to St. Thomas. He did not play a lot his freshman year but came on strong as a sophomore and led us in scoring in the national championship victory over Wooster. Last year, John was named all-conference and he has emerged as one of the top defenders in Division III. A business management major, John’s infectious energy and smile make him a great teammate.

Drew Mathews attended Faribault Bethlehem Academy, where he was an honors student. Drew played two years of junior varsity and has been on the varsity the past two seasons. He had hip surgery last summer, and his dedication and devotion to rehabilitation and the team make him an outstanding teammate, leader and role model for our younger players. He is a finance major.

Tommy Hannon also is from Cretin-Derham Hall, where he played junior varsity basketball as a senior. A wonderful example of hope and work ethic, Tommy played junior varsity his freshman season and was a backup center as a sophomore before becoming our starting center as a junior, when he was named to the All-Final Four team in Salem, Va. A finance major who will graduate with honors, Tommy has battled injuries and adversity his entire career.

Each of these five seniors came to St. Thomas to challenge himself on and off the court. I have been inspired by and blessed to coach them the past four seasons. Their teammates and coaches will miss them, but we are grateful for their contributions to UST Basketball and we are excited to see what they do to better their world when they leave St. Thomas.

Kelly Ring

I would be remiss if I did not pay tribute to another senior, Kellie Ring, the starting point guard on our women’s team. Kellie is from Somerset, Wis., and celebrated her “Senior Day” Saturday in our win over St. Benedict. She has started all 23 games this season. The day after her father’s funeral last month, Kellie led the Tommies to a 78-55 win over Augsburg with 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals – a truly inspirational performance. She is a biology major.

Let’s pack Schoenecker Arena tonight – 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13 – to cheer Will, Noah, John, Drew, Tommy and their teammates as we take on St. Olaf. Go Tommies!

Baseball players hoisted Dennis Denning above their heads in 2009, and he was delighted but then horrified that they would drop him. Steve Fritz bear-hugged basketball players in 2011 and hours later still wore the remnants of a net they cut down. Thanh Pham crouched on the sidelines last November with a hand to his eyes to wipe away tears as his volleyball players celebrated.

Steve Fritz, championship net around his neck, hugs Teddy Archer March 19, 2011 after the men’s basketball team took first place in the nation. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)

The images remain indelible, and they should. The moments defined excellence. They rewarded hard and selfless work. They generated recognition. They opened doors.

And perhaps most importantly, they engendered pride. They gave people, even casual observers, a chance to simply say, “We’re No. 1.”

Everybody likes to be No. 1. Few get the opportunity, and sometimes things don’t work out. As much success as St. Thomas has had in winning 15 national championships in eight different NCAA Division III sports, second only to Williams College’s nine champion sports, the Tommies also have experienced their share of painful defeats. Football was the most recent national runner-up, one of 12 second place finishes (also by teams in baseball, softball, men’s hockey, women’s cross country and women’s outdoor track).

Pham and Fritz believe national championships are important for a team, a program and an institution.

A team? “It’s validation,” said Pham, whose Tommies lost first-round matches in the 2010 and 2011 national tournaments but won the 2012 crown in five sets after trailing No. 1 Calvin 0-2. “Work hard and good things will happen. You can be down, but don’t lose faith. There’s always a solution; you just have to find it. That this team won speaks volumes to its character, its resilience and its desire.”

A program? “It gives you a certain amount of status,” said Fritz, athletic director since 1992, who retired after 31 years as men’s basketball coach when the Tommies won the 2011 title. “When you recruit, people know you have a good program. It opens doors.”

Tommie baseball players hoist their trophy and their head coach, Dennis Denning, onto their shoulders following a victory over Wooster College May 26, 2009 to take the national title. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)

An institution? “It draws attention to St. Thomas in a positive manner – in how prospective students will look at us, in how students here will share in our joy, and in how our alumni can be very proud of their school,” Pham said.

Fritz agrees and likes to call sports “a front porch.” The success of any given team “becomes part of the success of the entire institution,” he said. “It’s very visible” and – at a time when higher education faces growing criticism for costs and relevance – “it’s good news.”

Glenn Caruso knows all of that as he, too, pursues a national title. Two days before his football team played Mount Union, he spoke with his players as they sat on a Virginia field after practice.

“Look around,” he said. “This is where we will play for the national championship. There are 238 teams (in Division III), and only two are left. You are one of them.”

The Tommies didn’t quite get to the top in that game. But I have no doubt they will in the future, and I can hardly wait to see the look on Caruso’s face. It will be indelible.

Read more from St. Thomas Magazine.

Fans can watch the game live on KSTC-TV Channel 45. KSTC is an over-the-air station owned by Hubbard Broadcasting and is available to households throughout central and southern Minnesota, and western Wisconsin.

Tickets to the game also are available for purchase beginning at noon on Saturday and will be sold outside of the main arena doors. Adult tickets cost $8; student tickets are $4. All UST students, faculty or staff with a valid University of St. Thomas ID will receive free admission to the game.

For more information about TV advertising during this game or future Tommie games, contact Michelle Morgan, (651) 962-6186.

After a record-setting season marked by St. Thomas’ first trip to the NCAA championship game, Caruso today was announced as Liberty Mutual’s Division III winner again in 2012. He has received the elite honor three consecutive seasons.

The program is among the top college football honors and recognizes coaches for sportsmanship, integrity, responsibility and excellence, on and off the field.

For the third year in a row, the St. Thomas community helped elevate Caruso as he received exceptional support in the December online voting at CoachoftheYear.com. Fan votes contributed 20 percent to each coach’s final score, and the media and College Football Hall of Fame ballots accounted for 25 percent and 55 percent, respectively.

Caruso will again be honored in the permanent Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year display at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind.

In addition, Liberty Mutual will make another $50,000 charitable donation on his behalf, which Caruso has designated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; Bucky’s Pride; and the Ronald McDonald House Charities, Upper Midwest, in Minneapolis.

Off the field, Caruso and his program make a great impact in St. Paul and beyond. With his funds from the 2010 and 2011 Liberty Mutual awards, Caruso founded “Bucky’s Pride.” He is a founder of a Reading Recess program at local elementary schools. He joined Tommie players and in the Up ’Til Dawn Benefit writing 2,000 letters to raise funds for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. He also holds an annual youth football camp and is active in state and national coaching organizations.

Liberty Mutual also will make another $20,000 scholarship donation to the St. Thomas Alumni Association in Caruso’s name as part of the award.

The other 2012 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year winners are Brian Kelly, Notre Dame (FBS); Willie Fritz, Sam Houston State (FCS); and Peter Rossomando, New Haven (Division II).

Previous winners, from all divisions, include Minnesota Gopher Coach Jerry Kill (2007, Southern Illinois); ex-St. John’s coach John Gagliardi (2007); Alabama’s Nick Saban (2008); Mount Union’s Larry Kehres (2008); and ex-Minnesota-Duluth coach Bob Nielson (2010).

Coach Grateful

Caruso and his wife Rachael are in Miami and as part of the festivities will be guests at tonight’s FBS championship game between Alabama and Notre Dame. He said he’s proud and humbled to receive the honor again in 2012.

“My thanks go to Liberty Mutual and the Coach of the Year organization for this amazing honor,” Caruso said. “My thanks also go to my wife, Rachael, and our family, but moreover, to the coaches’ and players’ families, whose selfless commitment and sacrifice for our passions allow us to chase our dreams. It’s such an honor to accept this award primarily because it has such extensive and absolute criteria.

“The fact that we have been blessed to win this award again is a function of the community and confluence here at the University of St Thomas. I believe it speaks less about an individual and more about the Village.”

At age 5, Caruso was diagnosed with a life-threatening blood disorder. He credits doctors at Yale-New Haven Cancer center for helping save his life at that time. In appreciation, he previously set up a living trust with that hospital as the beneficiary, and in 2011 established Bucky’s Pride – named in the memory of his late father, Frank “Bucky” Caruso – to support families of children affected by cancer and blood disorders.

“Through this award and the genuine goodness and generosity of Liberty Mutual,” Caruso said, “we can further support some great organizations like Bucky’s Pride, St Jude’s Children’s Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House of Minnesota. These organizations help families in unfortunate situations without asking for anything in return.

“As I get older, I realize more and more how much one’s community and environment plays a role in anyone’s success; so it allows me to accept this award not as an individual, but rather as a part of the greater UST community of families, coaches, staff, administration, fans and alumni.”

“Being named the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award winner for the third consecutive year is a testament to Glenn’s significant impact and positive influence on our students and our community,” said Steve Fritz, UST athletics director.

Caruso accomplishments at St. Thomas

Caruso has improved his record in each of his first seven seasons as a head coach. He inherited a Macalester program that was 0-9 in 2005 and guided the Scots to records of 2-7 and 4-5. He took over a St. Thomas program coming off a 2-8 season in 2007 and has posted records of 7-3, 11-2, 12-1, 13-1 and 14-1 in five seasons here, voted MIAC Coach of the Year the last three seasons.

This year, Caruso led St. Thomas to a school-record 14 wins and the Division III finals and earned a season-ending AFCA ranking of No. 2 in the nation, a program best. UST had four All-America honorees. St. Thomas has won three consecutive conference championships and became the first team in MIAC history to post three consecutive 10-0 records in the regular season.

In five seasons under Caruso, UST football has won CoSIDA Academic All-America honors five times; one National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete; three Gagliardi Trophy semifinalists; three AFCA Good Works Team honorees; two conference Player of the Year recipients and 11 players combine to win All-America honors a total of 16 times.

UST national coaches of the year

This marks the fifth time in the last four years — and ninth time in the last 12 seasons — that a St. Thomas coach has been honored as a national Coach of the Year. Recipients are:

1956: Frank Deig, football (National Small College Coach of the Year)

1991: Ted Riverso, women’s basketball

1992: Dave Orren, volleyball (AVCA)

1995: Joe Sweeney, women’s track and field (USTFCCCA)

2001: Dennis Denning, baseball (ABCA)

2004: John Tschida, softball (NFCA)

2005: John Tschida, softball (NFCA)

2005: Terry Skrypek, men’s hockey (ACHA)

2009: Dennis Denning, baseball (ABCA)

2010: Glenn Caruso, football (Liberty Mutual)

2011: Steve Fritz, men’s basketball (NABC)

2011: Glenn Caruso, football (Liberty Mutual and American Football Monthly

2012: Glenn Caruso, football (Liberty Mutual and AFCA)

UPDATE: Caruso also named American Football Coaches’ Association Division III National Coach of the Year

On Jan. 8, Caruso was named Division III National Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches’ Association (AFCA). The elite award is voted on by fellow Division III coaches.

He is the third Division III honoree in the 30-year history of the AFCA award to lead the voting without winning the NCAA championship.

The Tommies (14-1) shut down the potent Raiders (15-0) for most in the middle two quarters and forced four mid-game punts.

But in the end, with the UST offense slowed by an injury to 1,100-yard rusher Brenton Braddock and  hurt by a few mistakes, three Mount Union scoring drives of 80-plus yards proved too much to overcome.

The key statistic: In the second half, Mount Union ran 37 plays and gained 208 yards, as it converted 5-of-8 on third downs after halftime to deny St. Thomas’ comeback bid.

And this: St. Thomas’ defense had 10 takeaways in its first four playoff wins, but none on Friday against an efficient Raider offense.

A crowd of just over 6,000 saw the Tommies rebound from a nightmare start as they fell behind Mount Union 14-0 in the game’s first 10 minutes on the clock.

St. Thomas allowed a seven-play, 82-yard touchdown drive in the game’s opening 2:10 on the clock to quickly trail 7-0. A blocked punt and 13-yard TD return made it 14-0 just 11:23 into the game.

After St. Thomas answered with a long scoring drive for a 14-7 score, the Tommie defense forced a three-and-out as the game’s momentum slowly turned.

“There was a stretch there where we had (Mount Union) on their heels,” said UST defensive coordinator Wallie Kuchinski. “We had them on the ropes. But those last two drives were killers. We’ve been really good on third downs this season (27 percent allowed), but 6-of-13 on the game is not good. We just didn’t get off the field enough. We gave them too many chances.”

The play of the game came late in the third quarter after the Toms had pulled within 14-10. UST was on the verge of taking possession but on fourth-and-four from the 17-yard line, Raider QB Kevin Burke hit Chris Denton on a 17-yard TD strike to the corner of the end zone. That capped a 12-play, 81-yard drive and pushed the lead to 21-10.

The Raiders took full command on their next possession, a 14-play, 87-yard touchdown drive that burned 8:38, for an 18-point lead.

UST coach Glenn Caruso called the last two scoring drives “pivotal” but gave credit to Mount Union for making the plays in the second half. “That’s the mark of a championship team,” he said.

The Raiders’ offense had no turnovers. Burke completed 21 of 28 passes for 222 yards. All but two went to wide receivers Denton (11 catches) and Jasper Collins (8 catches).

There were some bright spots for the Tommie defense, which played much of the second half without injured Harry Pitera and Derek Vonnahme:

• UST limited Mount Union to only one offensive gain of more than 17 yards (a 41-yard catch and run by Collins that set up the final TD.)
• A Mount Union attack that averaged near seven offensive TDs a game was limited to three.
• A Mount Union offense that generated 558 yards a game in its 14-0 start gained a season-low 344 yards.
• The Tommies had three sacks and another tackle for loss of Burke that could have been called a sack but was ruled a run. Mount Union had allowed four sacks just once all season.

Ryan Deitz, one of six senior starters on defense, said the Tommies were excited for the challenge of playing the No. 1-ranked Raiders.

“Their receivers are very fast, very strong, and all good athletes,” Deitz said. “We tried to do whatever we could to defend them. We had a good scheme. They definitely made some good plays, so give them credit. It was a challenge to play them. It was an exciting, fun game. Obviously, we’d rather be on the other side (of the outcome).”

The Purple Raiders opened with 14 quick points on a long drive and a blocked punt and, after the Tommies closed to within 14-10, sealed the win with back-to-back drives of 81 and 87 yards before 6,027 fans in Salem Stadium.

The win gave Mount Union its 11th NCAA Division III crown in 16 appearances in the championship game. The Purple Raiders had lost to UW-Whitewater in the title game the last three years.

Coach Glenn Caruso told his players in a midfield huddle after the game that he was proud of their effort and, as painful as the loss was, believes they will learn from it and use it as motivation for next year.

“I mean what I say – we will find a way to get better,” he said in the locker room. “The FAMILY (Forget About Me, I Love You) always does.”

In the post-game news conference, Caruso credited Mount Union for buckling down after the Tommies had trimmed the deficit to four points and taking nearly 14 minutes off the clock on the touchdown drives.

“That’s the mark of a championship team,” he said.

Mount Union Coach Larry Kehres praised St. Thomas’ resilience and how it fought back from the early deficit.

“It was a tough game,” he said. “We had our up and down moments. Pressure defense from St. Thomas caused that. We had some flashes of excellence at times that pulled us through tonight.”

Mount Union jumps to 14-0 first quarter lead

Mount Union wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. The Purple Raiders needed only seven plays and 2:10 to go 82 yards for a touchdown on a one-yard run by Jake Simon. The big play on the drive was a 41-yard pass from Kevin Burke to Jasper Collins, the All-American wide receiver who finished with eight catches for 120 yards.

St. Thomas picked up a first down on each of its first two drives, but when the second drive stalled, Mount Union linebacker Charles Dieuseul blocked a Garrett Maloney punt after a high snap. Dieuseul scooped up the ball at the 13 and ran in for a 14-0 lead with 3:37 left in the first quarter. It was the first blocked St. Thomas punt in 89 punts spanning two seasons.

The Tommies responded with a 10-play, 60-yard drive to cut the Mount Union lead in half three plays into the second quarter. They drove 50 yards to the Mount Union 10 and set up for a field goal on fourth down, but holder Dan Ferrazzo took the snap and ran for the touchdown. Ferrazzo caught two passes for 11 yards and ran twice for 17 yards on the drive.

The St. Thomas defense, after giving up 114 yards in the first quarter, stiffened in the second and held Mount Union to only 22 yards and two first downs in three series. But the Tommies could not take advantage of good field position, twice moving the ball to the Mount Union 25 and 42 before turning the ball over on four downs.

For the half, St. Thomas outgained Mount Union 159 to 136 yards and dominated time of possession 18:30 to 11:30. Quarterback Matt O’Connell hit 11 of 21 passes for 89 yards, with Ferrazzo nabbing six for 37 yards. Freshmen Brenton Braddock, the Tommies’ 1,100-yard rusher, rushed only twice for seven yards before leaving the game, having injured his lower leg in the semifinal win over UW-Oshkosh.

Tommies close to within four points

Neither team could move the ball on its first drives of the second half. Another stalled St. Thomas drive led to a Maloney punt, but Ryan Deitz stripped the ball from returner Chris Denton and long snapper Zach Novaczyk recovered the fumble at the Mount Union 27.

“He got a little bit ahead of me,” Deitz said of Denton, “but I got my hand on the ball, gave it a rip and Zach recovered. It was a big play for us.”

The Tommies again couldn’t move the ball, however, and settled for a 38-yard Paul Graupner field goal to cut the Purple Raiders lead to 14-10 with 6:27 left in the third quarter.

“We had opportunities to put more points on the board,” Caruso said of the three drives that ended in Mount Union territory but netted only the field goal. “If we had done a better job on the offensive side of the ball, we would have been in better shape.”

Mount Union puts game away

Mount Union responded to the Graupner field goal with a 12-play, 81-yard drive capped by a Burke-to-Denton touchdown pass on fourth and five from the St. Thomas 17. The Purple Raiders racked up four first downs in six plays in the middle of the drive.

“These guys buckled down,” said Burke, a sophomore who finished 21 of 28 for 222 yards and was named the game’s Most Outstanding Player. “We looked at where we were (14-10 lead) and we realized this is it. You have to step up at that point. We got the job done.”

Even trailing by 11 points, the Tommies were confident they could rally. Ferrazzo recalled their fourth-quarter comeback in the season opener at UW-Eau Claire, when they were down by 11 points but scored two touchdowns in the last five minutes to win.

“There was no sense of panic on the sideline,” Ferrazzo said.

On the ensuing drive, St. Thomas picked up two first downs on face-mask and personal foul penalties, and O’Connell runs of seven and eight yards put the ball at the Mount Union 42. Two plays later, however, he threw an interception and the Purple Raiders took over at their 13 with 13:06 left in the game.

They marched 87 yards in 14 plays, taking 8:43 off the clock before Jake Simon scored on a one-yard run for a 28-10 lead. Burke faced four third downs and converted each on passes of five and nine yards, an 11-yard run and a 38-yard pass to Collins at the St. Thomas 5.

Mount Union dominated the second half statistics, with 208 yards in 18 minutes of possession, while the Tommies could muster only 35 yards in 30 plays. They were held to season lows in points (10), rushing yards (78), passing yards (116) and total yards (194) and were one of seven on third-down conversions in the second half.

More time with the family

With less than a minute to go, Caruso used all three of his timeouts to extend the game. A reporter asked why he didn’t run out the clock and what he said to his players when they ran to the sideline for timeout huddles.

“I told them I loved them,” he said, “and that I would do anything I could to keep this family together for one more second.”

Another reporter asked Caruso if his team was in a “suspended state,” grateful to have reached the title game after losing in the semifinals last year to Whitewater but disappointed in the final score.

“We’re not in a suspended state,” Caruso said. “We’re pretty crushed right now, and I’d be lying if I said anything else. We all wanted this very badly.”

Earlier in the locker room, he thanked the 12 seniors who had helped to build the foundation for a program that went 50-5 over the last four years with records of 11-2, 12-1, 13-1 and 14-1, and he said he expected to see them in the stands next year.

Ayo Idowu, a defensive lineman from Woodbury, is one of those seniors. In the postgame huddle at midfield, he thanked the younger players for their effort and putting up with him.

“I’m going to be right there in the front row next year, guys,” he said, pointing to the bleachers.

The viewing party is sponsored by Campus Life. For more information, contact Director of Campus Life Margaret Cahill.

The championship game will be aired live on ESPNU (channel 87.1) and is generously provided by Comcast.

Read more about the Tommie football team’s road to the championship on TommieSports.com. And don’t forget to vote for coach Glenn Caruso for Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year.

A Sun Country flight will depart the Humphrey Terminal (No. 2), Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, at 10:30 a.m. CST Thursday and arrive in Roanoke, Va., at 1:45 p.m. EST. The flight will return to the Twin Cities after the game Friday night.

Parents of players, university staff members and the media filled the 162-person flight; unfortunately, there was not room for alumni and other fans. While the demand for two planes was strong, a maintenance issue denied the availibility of a second plane.

If you plan to go to the game but won’t be on the charter flight, you can participate in a number of activities:

• Join St. Thomas fans at a pregame party at 4 p.m. Friday in the pavilion at the rear of the Salem Civic Center. Cost is $20 and includes food. Email your reservations to Donna Seng at seng0785@stthomas.edu by noon Wednesday.
• Purchase a game ticket in advance ($7 for students and $12.50 for adults) from JoAnn Andregg, Room 320, Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex, by 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, or call the Salem Civic Center box office, (540) 375-3004, at any time.
• Need flight information? Call Linda Logman at Schilling Travel, (612) 436-1050.

If you are not traveling to Salem, you can watch the game on ESPN U or listen to the WCCO Radio broadcast over JACK 104.1 FM. (The game will not be broadcast on WCCO’s 830 AM channel because of a Timberwolves game.) There will also be a viewing party on campus in the Woulfe Alumni Hall on the third floor of the Anderson Student Center.

Questions: Call the St. Thomas Development office, (651) 962-6950.

Dr. Susan Alexander

Our good friend Title IX turned 40 this year.

And do we have a present for her – the NCAA Division III championship volleyball team. Now, I realize that schools in Division III give her champions every year, but our champions are something special.

Recently, I saw a video clip of the St. Thomas team; its spirit and sense of family shone through. Ali Wahlin, international studies major, may have best expressed the closeness of the team when she said, “Any time I need anything, I count on my teammates.” Also shining was Coach Thanh Pham, whose low-key, understated manner inspired the team more than any rah-rah stereotype could have.

I also learned what a “dig” is – the MIAC career record now held by Kaiti Wachter, a legal studies in business major.

But the academic in me probably resonates most with Kia Johnson – biology major, UST Dease scholar, one of nine Minnesota winners of a Goldwater Scholarship and one of 15 recipients nationwide of the UNCF/Merck Science Research Scholarship. For two out of the last three years, Kia has possessed the highest grade point average of all the volleyball players in the national playoffs. Kia talks about the balance that volleyball gives to her academic life.

The late Professor Patricia Howe, Ph.D. in history and alternate for the U.S. Olympic swimming team, always told me that women’s sports complement women’s academic performance. Klutzes like me tended to doubt that claim. Now I believe her.

Caruso joins coaches from Coe, Lake Forest, Concordia-Chicago and UW-Oshkosh as finalists.

The Division I FBS 10 finalists include Alabama’s Nick Saban, Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly, Kansas State’s Bill Snyder and Penn State’s Bill O’Brien. The Division II finalists include Minnesota-Duluth’s Bob Nielsen.

Fans can vote through Dec. 20, once per day in each division, via Twitter or the Coach of the Year website.

Caruso was the Liberty Mutual national winner for Division III in both 2010 and 2011, the first two-time recipient in the award’s history. St. Thomas voters helped him get over the top in each of the previous two years.

Fan voting accounts for 20 percent of the tally in determining the winner, with 55 percent from a College Football Hall of Fame selection committee and 25 percent from a national media panel. The winner will be announced Jan. 7 before the BCS title game.

The award recognizes coaches who demonstrate sportsmanship, integrity, responsibility and excellence, on and off the field. Winners receive $50,000 to donate to a charity of their choice and $20,000 for their school’s alumni association.

In his five years as coach, Caruso has led St. Thomas to a 56-7 record with four consecutive NCAA playoff quarterfinal and three consecutive 10-0 regular seasons. The Tommies have won three MIAC football championships in a row, a feat last achieved here in 1947-49. American Football Monthly chose Caruso as 2011 Division III Coach of the Year after he led the Tommies to the national semifinals in a school-record 13-1 finish.

Caruso has a long résumé of community service, including his Bucky’s Pride foundation, Ronald McDonald Charities, St. Jude’s Hospital, a local Reading Recess program and his annual youth football camp.

St. Thomas finished 40-1 and became the first MIAC program to win a national team championship in volleyball. Coach Thanh Pham’s team capped off the title with a 3-2 comeback win over No. 1-ranked Calvin (Mich.) on Nov. 17 in Holland, Mich.

There are 420 teams that compete in Division III volleyball. The Tommies are one of two programs to reach the eight-team national tournament in each of the last three seasons.

The national team championship was the sixth by a Tommie team in the last 13 years. St. Thomas now has won NCAA team titles in eight different sports, a feat surpassed by only one Division III instiution — Williams (Mass.), with nine.

2012 Tommie Volleyball milestones

• NCAA champions – first by any MIAC volleyball program
• Won final 35 matches of season
• Won MIAC-record 40 matches
• Had sixth-best winning percentage in Division III history (40-1, .976 winning percentage)
• Only the second team in the 32-year history of D-III nationals to rally from a 2-0 set deficit and win the last three sets of the championship match
• 14-0 run against MIAC opponents, swept conference regular-season and playoff titles
• First team in MIAC history to win or share six consecutive conference championships
• Current home-court win streak of 28 matches
• Thanh Pham, region and MIAC Coach of the Year
• Two first-time All-Americans, sophomore Kelly Foley and junior Paige Brimeyer
• Sophomore Jill Greenfield selected Most Outstanding Player at eight-team national tournament
• Senior libero Kaiti Wachter played in all 149 career matches, finished in D-III’s top 15 in career digs with 2,951
• Senior Kia Johnson, a Goldwater scholar, was 2011 and 2012 Elite 89 winner as top grade-point average among 136 athletes at nationals
• Team ranked in 93 of last 94 AVCA D-III national polls

HOLLAND, Mich. — Down two sets at one point and playing in front of the largest crowd to ever see an NCAA Division III volleyball championship match, the St. Thomas Tommies staged an improbable comeback to defeat Calvin (Mich.) College, 13-25, 17-25, 25-18, 25-16, 15-9, Saturday night to win the program’s national championship.

The Tommies, who won their last 35 matches in a row, became the first team from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to win the national championship in volleyball. They finished the year 40-1, while the Knights, champions of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, finished at 33-3.

The Tommies, the first MIAC team ever to reach the NCAA title match, closed out an 8-0 postseason run over the last 17 days with its fifth notable comeback victory.

Volleyball is the eighth different sport in which St. Thomas has won a national team title, joining men’s and women’s basketball; men’s and women’s cross country; baseball; softball and men’s indoor track. It’s the fifth NCAA team title by a Tommie team in the last 10 years.

The Tommies’ attack percentage rose with each set, going from .103 in the first set to .245 in the third, .267 in the fourth and .389 in the deciding set.

Greenfield led St. Thomas with 14 kills and 17 digs, while Foley added 14 kills and seven blocks. Sara Atkinson had 12 kills and a hitting percentage of .455, while libero Kaiti Wachter had 19 digs.

Record Crowd

The match was played in front of 3,517 fans, the vast majority of them from Calvin, whose campus is less than 40 miles from Hope College’s DeVos Fieldhouse. The previous attendance record for a national championship match was 3,423 in 1991, when Washington University-St. Louis defeated UC-San Diego for the Division III title in St. Louis, Mo.

“To be down two sets, in that environment, and to be able to pull out the win speaks volumes about our girls and how much they wanted it,” St. Thomas coach Thanh Pham said. “They’re just fighters. They fought through it. I couldn’t be more proud.”

The Knights, who were seeking their second national championship in three years, dominated the first two sets with their powerful hitting and blocking. The Knights hit .458 in the first set and .467 in the second set, led by sophomore middle hitter Emily Crowe, who had nine kills in 10 attempts for a .900 hitting percentage.

But the tide started to turn in the third set. With junior McKenna Reagan coming off the bench to provide a spark, the Tommies jumped out to a 9-4 lead. Calvin whittled the lead down to 16-15 on a kill by Maggie Kamp, but back-to-back kills by Reagan ignited a six-point run that helped St. Thomas clinch the set.

“We call her ‘Captain Positive,’” Pham said of Reagan, who had five of her seven kills in the third set. “No matter what happens, she’s always saying ‘good job,’ ‘we’ll get the next one,’ (or) ‘come on’. She is really ultra-competitive, and I think that helped raise the level of competitiveness of our team and helped calm us down.”

Momentum Turn

The Tommies continued their surge in the fourth set, as Jill Greenfield, the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, and All-American Kelly Foley consistently found holes in the Knights’ defense. Foley’s kill sealed the set and extended the match to a fifth set, the first five-set match to decide the national title since 2007.

St. Thomas blockers’ came up big early in the deciding set, as two blocks by Mackenzie Piechowski and another by Foley helped the Tommies jump in front 9-5. Calvin mounted one final run, pulling to within 11-9 on a kill by national Player of the Year Lizzie Kamp.

But a Greenfield kill, followed by back-to-back kills by Paige Brimeyer, extended the lead to 14-9. Foley and Greenfield then teamed up for a block for the championship-clinching point.

“I thought we were in the right mentality coming out, and I think we served very aggressively. We stayed in system,” Calvin coach Amber Warners said. “We talked throughout the tournament about staying in the present moment. I don’t really have an explanation (for what happened after the second set) … St. Thomas kicked it in, started serving more aggressively and stayed in system more.”

The Tommies’ attack percentage rose with each set, going from .103 in the first set to .245 in the third, .267 in the fourth and .389 in the deciding set.

Greenfield led St. Thomas with 14 kills and 17 digs, while Foley added 14 kills and seven blocks. Sara Atkinson had 12 kills and a hitting percentage of .455, while libero Kaiti Wachter had 19 digs.

Crowe led Calvin with 14 kills and a hitting percentage of .407 for the match, while Lizzie Kamp added 12 kills and 18 digs, and Maggie Kamp had 12 kills. All-American Megan Rietema dished out 45 assists while Rebecca Ratkov had eight blocks.

Greenfield was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Atkinson, Wachter, Lizzie Kamp, Crowe and Christopher Newport’s Abby Hogge.

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Caruso was the Liberty Mutual national winner for Division III in both 2010 and 2011 and ranks among the top 10 vote-getters in 2012. St. Thomas voters helped him get over the top in each of the previous two years.

After the first round of fan voting concludes, a Coach of the Year committee will determine five finalists and a second round of voting will occur from Dec. 4 to 20. Fan voting accounts for 20 percent of the tally in determining the winner, with 55 percent from a College Football Hall of Fame selection committee and 25 percent from a national media panel. The winner will be announced Jan. 7 before the BCS title game.

The award recognizes coaches who demonstrate sportsmanship, integrity, responsibility and excellence on and off the field. Winners receive $50,000 to donate to a charity of their choice and $20,000 for their school’s alumni association.

In his five years as coach, Caruso has led St. Thomas to a 53-7 record with four consecutive NCAA playoff trips and three consecutive 10-0 regular seasons. The Tommies have won three MIAC football championships in a row, a feat last achieved here in 1947-49. American Football Monthly chose Caruso as 2011 Division III Coach of the Year after he led the Tommies to the national semifinals in a school-record 13-1 finish.

Caruso has a long résumé of community service, including his Bucky’s Pride foundation, Ronald McDonald Charities, St. Jude’s Hospital, a local Reading Recess program and his annual youth football camp.

The live broadcasts from Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul and St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights will occur on these Saturdays:

• Dec. 1, 2:30 p.m., men’s hockey vs. Concordia-Moorhead.
• Jan. 12, 3 p.m., men’s basketball vs. St. John’s.
• Feb. 9, 1 p.m., women’s basketball vs. St. Benedict.
• Feb. 16, 2 p.m., women’s hockey vs. Augsburg.

Athletic Director Steve Fritz said the broadcasts represent an excellent opportunity to bring St. Thomas sports into homes throughout the region.

“We are excited about these broadcasts,” Fritz said. “They will provide great visibility for both St. Thomas and the MIAC and will give our alumni and sports fans another way to follow our teams.”

KSTC is locally owned and operated by Hubbard Broadcasting and is the only fully independent television station in the Twin Cities market. Home to 45 Local News, KSTC is the exclusive broadcast partner for Minnesota State High School League tournaments and can be watched in HD, over-the-air on 5-2 and on Comcast Channel 812.

St. Thomas will contract with CTN Studios of Coon Rapids to produce the broadcasts, including hiring announcers for play-by-play action and color commentary, said Michelle Morgan, marketing manager for the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex and Anderson Student Center. CTN already handles football game-day production for the new scoreboard in O’Shaughnessy Stadium.

“CTN has experience in all facets of producing sports broadcasts,” Morgan said. “We have an excellent working relationship with CTN with our football games and we expect they will provide first-rate broadcasts for basketball and hockey.”

Dan Terhaar will be the play-by-play announcer for all four games. He has 28 years of sports broadcast experience, including television for the Minnesota Wild and St. Cloud State hockey and radio for the University of Minnesota and University of North Dakota. He also has covered several high school sports.

Tori Holt will be a sideline reporter for the men’s and women’s basketball and women’s hockey games, with 10 years of pro and college experience. Andrew Brunette, an NHL free agent, will provide color commentary on the men’s hockey game if the lockout doesn’t end this month and a team doesn’t pick him up.

Morgan said the broadcasts are a “pilot project.” If they prove successful, she said, the university would be interested in additional broadcasts next year.

Business or organizations interested in purchasing advertising spots on the broadcasts can contact Morgan at (651) 962-6186 or morg7978@stthomas.edu.

St. Thomas football games already are broadcast, over WCCO Radio. WCCO broadcast its first St. Thomas game in December 2010, during the NCAA Division III playoffs, and subsequently signed contracts that extend through the 2013 season.

NCAA Regional Volleyball Tournament

The Tommie volleyball team will host an eight-team NCAA Region Tournament. The Tommies will play 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8, vs. Cornell College. If the Tommies beat Cornell they will play 7 p.m. Friday, and if they win Friday they will play 7 p.m. Saturday for the regional title. All of these games will take place in Schoenecker Arena in the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex.

All NCAA postseason events require a ticket; however, effective yesterday, Tommie Central will have 100 free tickets per game available for undergraduate students. If the Tommies win, 100 tickets for the next day’s game will be available at 10 p.m. following the game.

This is where it gets exciting. At each NCAA postseason home game for volleyball, and in the coming weeks for football, students will be able to have their IDs scanned prior to entering each game for a chance to be entered into a drawing. The more NCAA postseason events a student attends – the more entries the student will have in the drawing.

When attending volleyball this week, students should stop by the St. Thomas Athletic Hall of Fame on the second level of the AARC to have their cards scanned prior to entering the game. Prizes for the drawing will include a flat-screen TV, catered lunch for six and with either volleyball coach Thanh Pham or football coach Glenn Caruso, and the final prize is a $100 Bookstore gift card. Fanamaniac urges everyone to get out and cheer on the Tommies as they make runs for fall national championships and as they begin the winter sports season.

Football vs. St. Olaf

Outside linebacker Tremayne Williams sets his sights on a tackle for the undefeated Tommies, who have “3-peated” as MIAC champions. The team’s final MIAC game is Saturday in O’Shaughnessy Stadium. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)

The football team will look to cap off an undefeated regular season as it hosts St. Olaf at 1:10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10. Undergraduate students can pick up a free meal voucher good for a free lunch during Purple on the Plaza. Purple on the Plaza is a pre-game event that takes place on John P. Monahan Plaza from 11:30 to 1 p.m. prior to each home football game. The event is full of music, food and Tommie Spirit.

During halftime, stop by the purple tent at the south end of the stadium near the old scoreboard to register your Fanamaniac ID card scan – and cheer on the Tommies as they strive to complete an undefeated regular season.

Other Fanamaniac Events

• Friday, Nov. 9 – Pre-game event on the plaza, 6:15-7 p.m. (scan ID on the plaza; rain site: Scooter’s)
• Friday, Nov. 9 – Men’s hockey,* 7:30 p.m. Bus leaves at 7 p.m. from the Flynn turnaround (scan ID at Flynn as you board the bus)
• Saturday, Nov. 10 – Football, 1:10 p.m. (scan ID at halftime on south end of the Stadium by the old scoreboard; look for the purple tent)
• Friday, Nov. 16 – Pre-game on the plaza, 6:15-7 p.m. (scan ID on the plaza; rain site: Scooter’s)
• Friday, Nov. 16  – Women’s hockey,* 7:30 p.m. Bus leaves at 7 p.m. from Flynn turnaround (scan ID at Flynn as you board the bus)
• Tuesday, Nov. 20 – Pre-game event on the plaza, 6-7 p.m. (scan ID on the plaza; rain site: Scooter’s)
• Tuesday, Nov. 20 – Men’s basketball, 7 p.m. (scan ID at entrance to Schoenecker Arena throughout the game)
• Wednesday, Nov. 28 – Barbecue on the plaza, 6:30-7:30 p.m. (scan ID on the plaza; rain site: Scooter’s)
• Wednesday, Nov. 28 – Women’s basketball, 7:30 p.m. (scan ID at entrance to Schoenecker Arena throughout the game)

* Ride the Fanamaniac shuttle to hockey games and be admitted to the games for free.

Fewer than 30 percent of respondents knew that its system of government is a unique combination of federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. More than 80 percent knew that the country has two official languages – French and English – but fewer than 1 percent could name any of the six languages officially recognized in various regions of the country (Chipewyan, Cree, Gwich’in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, Slavey and Tlicho). All participants could name at least one province, but few could cite the 10 Canadian provinces and three territories stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans and northward into the Arctic.

Canada is the second largest country in the world based on area, is home to 34.5 million people, ranks sixth globally on the human development scale, has the ninth largest per capita income, ranking ahead of the United States, and is the next, perhaps most important, frontier for Tony Fisher ’97, president of Target Canada.

O Canada

Fisher, a native of St. Paul, Minn., has worked for Target Corp. in one capacity or another since interning at the Dayton Hudson Corp. (forerunner to Target Corp.) during his junior year at the University of St. Thomas. In 1999, he joined Target as an entry-level business analyst in merchandising, then moved on to senior business analyst, manager and senior buyer in apparel and grocery. As a divisional merchandising manager, he was responsible for toys and sporting goods. Before being named president of Target Canada in January 2011, Fisher was vice president of merchandising operations for Target Corp.

Yet Fisher’s path to the presidency was not a direct one, nor was it traditional. Following his junior year at St. Thomas, Fisher was drafted by the Texas Rangers as a center fielder. He played for teams in Port Charlotte, Fla.; Savannah, Ga.; Charleston, S.C.; and Pulaski, Va. Teammates included his roommate Travis Hafner, as well as R.A. Dickey, Carlos Peña, Joaquin Benoit, Doug Davis and Mike Venafro.

“Minor league baseball is remembered for a lot of things … playing in different cities, the fans that treat you like you’re in the big leagues, the terrible locker rooms … but one thing everyone remembers from playing in the minors are the bus rides. I’ll always remember my first one. I had just joined the team and we immediately went on a 10-day road trip. When you travel, they give you your entire trip’s meal money in one envelope as you get on the bus – $15 per day. I got on the bus with my $150 and not more than five minutes later, the guys invited me to play poker. I thought, ‘Wow, that’s nice. I’m new and they’re being so inviting. This will be a great way to get to know the guys!’ I think I lasted about seven minutes and my money was completely gone. Needless to say, I didn’t get to know many guys playing poker that trip; however, I was very nice to the next new guy to join the team and of course invited him to play poker with us!”

Minor league baseball, perhaps, is the place that distilled Fisher’s belief in the importance of teamwork. “Baseball, like business, is a sport where teamwork and collaboration are abso-lutely critical in order to achieve your long-term objectives. You learn to work with people from very different backgrounds, cultures and countries, and you figure out a way to come together, to compete and to win.”

Fisher played baseball for three years, returning to Minnesota in the off season to complete his degree at St. Thomas. “I had some great experiences in my time at St. Thomas, and I think the basic foundation of a disciplined focus to learning was at the core of what I took away. There are many things that allow leaders to be successful: Setting the right vision, being a strong critical thinker, developing and leveraging a broad network of resources, being self-aware, and having a committed focus to developing people.”

When he chose not to rejoin the Rangers, he “wasn’t sure at the time if the decision to stop playing professional baseball was the right decision or not, namely because I stopped before I had reached my peak performance. Reflecting back, the decision for me came down to thinking about which career gave me the best chances of success. I was more confident in my chances as an execu-tive than as a baseball player.”

A Sound Decision

Clearly, Fisher’s decision to focus on his career in business was a good one. His 13 years with Target have seen him rise steadily through the ranks and be involved in almost every aspect of merchandising. This intimate knowledge of the U.S. retail giant left him ideally positioned for his latest role, and he assisted the corporation during its initial planning stages. “Before joining Target Canada, I had strategic pricing as one of my areas of responsibility,” Fisher notes. “My involvement in the planning process prior to our deal being announced was to help determine what our profit model would look like given the existing retail market conditions.”

Those market conditions were one of the factors motivating Target to expand into Canada. “Target has always been and will continue to be focused on profitably growing our core business in the United States,” Fisher says, “but we also realized that international expansion was a critical growth factor for us as we looked at our long-range strategic plan.” Target leadership researched various international options, from emerging markets to well- established markets overseas. Canada – with its robust economy, educated workforce and stable government – provided the best fit. Research showed that Target brand awareness was strong across Canada – 70 percent. In addition, more than 30,000 Canadians held Target’s proprietary credit card and more than 10 percent of the nation’s citizens already shopped at Target stores in the United States or online.

While the decision to move into Canada was made several years ago, it wasn’t until 2010 that the company encountered the right set of circumstances to make it possible. A first, and critical, step was protecting the company’s immediately recognizable trademark. Since acquiring the assets of a company called Dylex Ltd. in 2001, Fairweather Ltd., International Clothiers and Les Ailes have claimed Canadian ownership rights of the Target name, which was registered by Dylex in Canada in 1981. For its part, Target Corp. claimed Fairweather had lost rights to the name since it stopped using it following the acquisition of Dylex. Finally, in February 2012, Fairweather and Target reached an agreement in the courts whereby the Canadian retailer will stop using the Target trademark by Jan. 31, 2013.

Another consideration in the expansion was whether or not to build new stores. Fisher says, in 2010 “we took advantage of the opportunity to buy up to 220 of the leasehold interests of Zellers, an existing discount retailer in Canada owned by the Hudson Bay Co., which would allow us to expand internationally with a large number of stores within our first year of launch. We determined which of the 220 locations would be of best strategic and financial interest for Target, and then decided which locations would be best served as a Target store.” The end result is an ambitious plan to open 124 stores by the end of 2013, with some of the first stores opening in the Toronto area as early as this coming spring. The company will open new stores from then on approximately every two months, first in Western Canada followed by Ontario, Quebec, the Atlantic regions and then multiple provinces.

“This isn’t a typical merger or acquisition,” Fisher notes. “We only bought the leasehold interests, and because of that we need to build our own team, build our own technology infrastructure, and build our own supply chain, all within a two-year timeframe of announcing the deal. In addition to this, we plan to invest an aver-age of more than $10 million per store to completely remodel the existing locations into fully branded Target stores.”

Paramount to the success of their business strategy is building a team, and no one is better known for its focus on teams than Target Corp., whose employees are known as team members and whose career services website proudly proclaims “our team is our greatest asset.” So it was critical that the teams representing Target Canada reflected the communities in which the stores operate. As Fisher states with pride, “I’m excited by the fact that when our stores are fully staffed, more than 99 percent of our team will be filled with Canadian team members.”

Concentric Learning

Expanding into a foreign country requires not only an understanding of differing laws and regulations but also of differing cultural norms. Americans – especially those who share a border with Canada (the longest land border in the world) – have long had a tendency to view the country as “America North,” a misnomer that fails to grasp the history, complexity, socio-economic characteristics and diversity of the Canadian people.

Fisher and his team were determined not to make that mistake: “We were very clear from the beginning that it would have been a mistake for us to treat Canada as the 51st state, or Target’s fifth region. We started our plans with what we called ‘Listening and Learning’ tours across the country.”

On these tours, Target representatives met with leaders at all levels to learn more about the country. They conducted focus groups made up of Canadians who already shopped at Target and those who didn’t. “What was very clear is that Canadians want the full Target brand experience, not something diluted or changed for Canada.” At the same time, the focus groups pointed out, Canadian shoppers expect the merchandise to reflect local tastes, preferences and even climate. While many of the merchandising choices will be based on consumer input and feedback, shelves also will be stocked with Canadian cultural products, a requirement of Target’s deal with the Canadian government.

It is Fisher’s role as president to be engaged in and aware of each step along the path to the largest expansion in Target’s history. And in this role, his workday has become anything but typical. While he and his family have moved to Toronto, he still visits the corporate headquarters in Minneapolis at least once a month. He meets with current team members and interviews prospective team members, consults with local industry and government leaders, and listens to retail peers, among them other U.S. retailers with a longer track record in Canada, well-known names such as Wal-Mart and Sears.

Wherever he is, Fisher is engaged in the full-time job of concentric learning. Fisher believes that one of the most important aspects of being successful as a leader is to be a concentric learner or, as he defines it: “being accountable to your opportunities. You have to ask for feedback, show resilience by accepting what you heard, and then be adaptable by improving where you need to. Leaders who always focus on concentric learning, while soaring with their strengths, will continue to find success in their careers. I believe that’s a big reason why I’ve been fortunate to have the career I’ve had so far.”

Read more from B. Magazine.

When it comes to MIAC football, there’s only one rivalry that can truly be labeled: “The Big Game.” Other schools may stake a claim, but everyone knows “The Big Game” is when the Tommies take on the Johnnies.

Saturday in Collegeville “The Big Game” kicks off the MIAC schedule for both St. Thomas and St. John’s University. The Tommies have taken two straight from the Johnnies, and one can bet that the Johnnies will be pumped sky-high to avenge last year’s 63-7 thumping in St. Thomas’ O’Shaughnessy Stadium. (Ironically, the stadium is named after Ignatius Aloysius O’Shaughnessy, who got the boot from St. John’s and enrolled at St. Thomas.)

It’s been said that the game wasn’t as close as the score indicated, to twist a cliché, as St. John’s didn’t score until 4:10 remained in the game. Will the Johnnies avenge their ignominious defeat of 2011? Will the Tommies “three-peat”? Both teams are 2-0, the Tommies are ranked No. 6, and the Johnnies are unranked.

Forget last year, forget the rankings, forget the record – they mean nothing when “The Big Game” is played. But don’t forget the history of this annual battle royal, some of which is pictured above, and some of which is posted here by Gene McGivern, UST’s sports information director.

Tickets for Saturday’s 1 p.m. game in Collegeville are $7 for adults and $5 for students. (Parking spots are gone by 11 a.m., so arrive early to avoid a long walk to the stadium.)

The game will be aired on WCCO AM 830 with Dave Lee and Eric Nelson on the call.

Go Tommies!

Jane Canney

This Saturday Sept. 15, the University of St. Thomas football team plays against St. John’s University in Collegeville. This is one of the storied rivalries in the MIAC conference. We wish our team well and a great time for all of the fans. As the game fast approaches, we would like to remind everyone to use good sports conduct, respect all in attendance and to represent our school in a positive manner. This especially applies to the selling, purchasing and wearing of T-shirts that disrespect the human dignity of another person. My colleagues – vice presidents at St. John’s and St. Benedict’s – are sending a similar message to their students.

The NCAA Division III policy clearly states that “Division III athletics encourages the development of sportsmanship and positive social attitudes. Coaches and players treat each other with respect, and administrators work to foster a positive competitive environment.” In an effort to foster this environment, home and visiting  guests wearing clothing that are disrespectful to others will be asked to change before gaining entrance to the football game.

We want to create a positive experience for you, our guests, parents, alumni and friends who may be attending the game. We want you to cheer and support our players with positive attitude and excitement. Show your Tommie spirit, wear purple and enjoy the game! Go Tommies!

Cheers,

Jane Canney, Ed.D.
Vice President for Student Affairs