St. Thomas Tommies football

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 (Minnesota) Tommies football
2024 St. Thomas Tommies football team
First season	1904; 121 years ago (1904)
Athletic director	Phil Esten
Head coach	Glenn Caruso 16th season, 157–34 (.822)
Stadium	O'Shaughnessy Stadium (capacity: 5,025)
Field surface	Turf
Location	Saint Paul, Minnesota
NCAA division	Division I FCS
Conference	Pioneer Football League[a]
All-time record	593–239–24 (.707)
Conference titles	22 Division III: 21 Division I: 1
Rivalries	Drake Saint John's (MN) (former)
Colors	Purple and gray[1]
Mascot	Tommies
Website	tommiesports.com

Conference championships

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

NCAA Division III

The Tommies made nine appearances in the NCAA Division III football playoffs, with a combined record of 20–9.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1990	First round	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

Notable former players

• Brady Beeson
• Al Culver
• Bud Daugherty
• DuWayne Deitz
• Jim Gustafson
• Walt Kiesling (Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee)

Future non-conference opponents

Future non-conference opponents announced as of May 8, 2025.^[8]

2025	2026	2027	2028	2029
Lindenwood	@ North Dakota			Harvard
@ Idaho	Northern Michigan
@ Northern Michigan	Southern Utah
@ North Dakota State

Notes

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