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 directly to Division I FCS.[7]
| St. Thomas Tommies (Minnesota) football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1904 | ||
| Athletic director | Phil Esten | ||
| Head coach | Glenn Caruso 17th season, 164–39 (.808) | ||
| Location | Saint Paul, Minnesota | ||
| Stadium | O'Shaughnessy Stadium (capacity: 5,025) | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
| Conference | Pioneer Football League | ||
| Colors | Purple and gray[1] | ||
| All-time record | 661–338–32 (.657) | ||
| Conference championships | |||
| MIAC: 1922, 1929, 1930, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1956, 1973, 1979, 1983, 1990, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 PFL: 2022 | |||
| Rivalries | |||
| Mascot | Tommies | ||
| Website | tommiesports.com | ||
Conference championships
edit| Year | Conference | Coach | Overall record | Conference record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922† | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Joe Brandy | 8–1 | 4–0 |
| 1929 | Joe Boland | 7–2 | 4–2 | |
| 1930† | 7–2 | 5–0 | ||
| 1939 | Nic Musty | 5–3 | 4–1 | |
| 1941 | Willie Walsh | 7–1 | 5–0 | |
| 1942† | 8–0 | 5–0 | ||
| 1946† | Frank Deig | 4–3 | 3–1 | |
| 1947† | 4–3 | 4–0 | ||
| 1948† | 7–1–1 | 5–0 | ||
| 1949 | 6–2 | 6–0 | ||
| 1956 | 8–0 | 7–0 | ||
| 1973† | DuWayne Deitz | 9–1 | 6–1 | |
| 1979† | 6–3 | 6–2 | ||
| 1983 | Mark Dienhart | 9–2 | 9–0 | |
| 1990† | Vic Wallace | 8–3–1 | 7–2 | |
| 2010 | Glenn Caruso | 12–1 | 8–0 | |
| 2011 | 13–1 | 8–0 | ||
| 2012 | 14–1 | 8–0 | ||
| 2015 | 14–1 | 8–0 | ||
| 2016 | 12–1 | 8–0 | ||
| 2017 | 11–2 | 8–0 | ||
| 2019† | 8–2 | 7–1 | ||
| 2022* | Pioneer Football League (D-I FCS) | 10–1 | 8–0 |
† Co-champions
* Ineligible for FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division III
Postseason appearances
editNCAA Division III
editThe Tommies made nine appearances in the NCAA Division III football playoffs, with a combined record of 20–9.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | First round | UW–Whitewater | W, 24–23 |
| Quarterfinals | Central (IA) | L, 32–33 | |
| 2009 | First round | Monmouth (IL) | W, 43–21 |
| Second round | Coe | W, 34–7 | |
| Quarterfinals | Linfield | L, 20–31 | |
| 2010 | First round | Benedictine (IL) | W, 57–10 |
| Second round | Linfield | W, 24–17 2OT | |
| Quarterfinals | Bethel (MN) | L, 7–12 | |
| 2011 | First round | St. Scholastica | W, 48–2 |
| Second round | Monmouth (IL) | W, 38–10 | |
| Quarterfinals | St. John Fisher | W, 45–10 | |
| Semifinals | UW–Whitewater | L, 0–20 | |
| 2012 | First round | St. Norbert | W, 48–17 |
| Second round | Elmhurst | W, 24–17 | |
| Quarterfinals | Hobart | W, 47–7 | |
| Semifinals | UW–Oshkosh | W, 28–14 | |
| Stagg Bowl | Mount Union | L, 10–28 | |
| 2014 | First round | Wartburg | L, 31–37 |
| 2015 | First round | La Verne | W, 57–14 |
| Second round | St. John's (MN) | W, 38–19 | |
| Quarterfinals | Wabash | W, 38–7 | |
| Semifinals | Linfield | W, 38–17 | |
| Stagg Bowl | Mount Union | L, 35–49 | |
| 2016 | First round | Northwestern (MN) | W, 43–0 |
| Second round | Coe | W, 55–6 | |
| Quarterfinals | UW–Oshkosh | L, 31–34 | |
| 2017 | First Round | Eureka | W, 47–8 |
| Second Round | Berry (GA) | W, 29–13 | |
| Quarterfinals | Mary Hardin–Baylor | L, 10–24 |
NAIA
editThe Tommies made one appearance in the NAIA playoffs, with a record of 0–1.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Quarterfinals | Northwestern (IA) | L, 10–17 |
Notable former players
editFuture non-conference opponents
editFuture non-conference opponents announced as of October 2, 2026.[8]
| 2027 | 2028 | 2029 |
|---|---|---|
| at South Dakota State | at Montana State | |
References
edit- ↑ "Athletic Brand Standards – The University of St. Thomas". March 3, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
- ↑ "Football Program Overview". The University of St. Thomas. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ↑ "MIAC Member Schools". Retrieved August 15, 2013.
- ↑ "Gene's Blog: 75 years later, the Cigar Bowl remembered". The University of St. Thomas. January 1, 2024. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
- ↑ "St. Thomas 'Involuntarily' Removed From MIAC". CBS News. May 22, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ↑ Vannini, Chris (May 22, 2019). "The school that won too much: Why St. Thomas was 'involuntarily removed' from the MIAC". The Athletic. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ↑ "St. Thomas gets approval from NCAA to go Division I". Star Tribune. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ↑ "St. Thomas Tommies Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
External links
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