Team Outlook

Football began at St. Thomas more than 100 years ago, and the first official varsity intercollegiate games were held in 1904.

The Tommies played their 850th game in 2005 (now at 861) and played their 100th varsity season in 2004. In 2006 St. Thomas became joined the Minnesota Gophers and St. John's as the only Minnesota institution to reach 500 victories.

The Toms come into the 2007 season with a 504-323-34 all-time record, which ranks in the top 25 in winning percentage among Division III programs.

St. Thomas' rich football history includes the famed 1948 team which played in the Cigar Bowl in Tampa. St. Thomas is the only Minnesota program besides the Minnesota Gophers to play in a Jan. 1 bowl game. The Tommies also played Minnesota on their home field in 1918 -- the lone MIAC team ever to host the Division I Gophers.

The St. Thomas football program has turned out many exceptional scholars and players, including lineman Walt Kiesling, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame; running back Vince Lombardi Jr., son of the legendary Green Bay Packers coach; ex-Minnesota Viking receiver Jim Gustafson; ex-Viking and New York Giant defensive back Neal Guggemos; and former NFL tight end Ryan Collins.

Nearly 30 Tommies have been drafted or signed free-agent contacts with NFL teams, and nine have played games in the NFL. The most recent pro was Collins, who finished his college career in 1997 as a two-time All-American tight end. He played for seven different pro teams before an injury ended his career in 2003.

The Tommies are 68-40 in their last 10 seasons and have had only four losing seasons since 1991. Since 1981, their overall record is 159-97-3. The program has had either an All-American or Academic All-American in 25 of the last 34 seasons.

The Tommies had three CoSIDA Academic All-Americans in both 2001 and 2005. (In 2005-06, only two universities nationally -- Notre Dame (14) and Nebraska (11) -- had more overall Academic All-Americans than St. Thomas' eight.

Longtime UST assistant coach Don Roney was hired as head coach in January 1998. The Tommies are 50-26 in conference play in Roney's first nine seasons.

From 1993-97, under former coach Mal Scanlan, the Tommies’ offense earned a national reputation for excellence and broke several school, conference and even NCAA Division III passing records.

As a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), St. Thomas’ challenging schedule includes a special rivalry with perennial NCAA power St. John’s University, where crowds average more than 7,000. The Tommies play in the 5,000-seat O’Shaughnessy Stadium, where a state-of-the-art FieldTurf surface was installed in 2004 and new bleachers were installed in 2007. The stadium is also the site of home games for Minnesota prep power Cretin-Derham Hall.

Approximately 60 incoming freshmen join the program each season. St. Thomas has a no-cut policy. All players practice together, and there are five junior-varsity games in addition to the 10 varsity games.