# 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. St. Thomas was a charter member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, formed in 1920. The Tommies also appeared at the 1949 Cigar Bowl. 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. St. Thomas received approval from the NCAA to begin competing at the NCAA Division I FCS level as a member of the Pioneer Football League starting with the 2021 season and became the first program to jump from NCAA Division III to Division I FCS.

## Conference championships

| Year | Conference | Coach | Overall record | Conference record |
| 1922† | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Joe Brandy | 8–1 | 4–0 |
| 1929 | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Joe Boland | 7–2 | 4–2 |
| 1930† | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Joe Boland | 7–2 | 5–0 |
| 1939 | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Nic Musty | 5–3 | 4–1 |
| 1941 | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Willie Walsh | 7–1 | 5–0 |
| 1942† | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Willie Walsh | 8–0 | 5–0 |
| 1946† | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Frank Deig | 4–3 | 3–1 |
| 1947† | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Frank Deig | 4–3 | 4–0 |
| 1948† | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Frank Deig | 7–1–1 | 5–0 |
| 1949 | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Frank Deig | 6–2 | 6–0 |
| 1956 | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Frank Deig | 8–0 | 7–0 |
| 1973† | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | DuWayne Deitz | 9–1 | 6–1 |
| 1979† | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | DuWayne Deitz | 6–3 | 6–2 |
| 1983 | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Mark Dienhart | 9–2 | 9–0 |
| 1990† | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Vic Wallace | 8–3–1 | 7–2 |
| 2010 | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Glenn Caruso | 12–1 | 8–0 |
| 2011 | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Glenn Caruso | 13–1 | 8–0 |
| 2012 | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Glenn Caruso | 14–1 | 8–0 |
| 2015 | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Glenn Caruso | 14–1 | 8–0 |
| 2016 | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Glenn Caruso | 12–1 | 8–0 |
| 2017 | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Glenn Caruso | 11–2 | 8–0 |
| 2019† | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (D-III) | Glenn Caruso | 8–2 | 7–1 |
| 2022* | Pioneer Football League (D-I FCS) | Glenn Caruso | 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 |
| 1990 | Quarterfinals | Central (IA) | L, 32–33 |
| 2009 | First round | Monmouth (IL) | W, 43–21 |
| 2009 | Second round | Coe | W, 34–7 |
| 2009 | Quarterfinals | Linfield | L, 20–31 |
| 2010 | First round | Benedictine (IL) | W, 57–10 |
| 2010 | Second round | Linfield | W, 24–17 $^{2OT}$ |
| 2010 | Quarterfinals | Bethel (MN) | L, 7–12 |
| 2011 | First round | St. Scholastica | W, 48–2 |
| 2011 | Second round | Monmouth (IL) | W, 38–10 |
| 2011 | Quarterfinals | St. John Fisher | W, 45–10 |
| 2011 | Semifinals | UW–Whitewater | L, 0–20 |
| 2012 | First round | St. Norbert | W, 48–17 |
| 2012 | Second round | Elmhurst | W, 24–17 |
| 2012 | Quarterfinals | Hobart | W, 47–7 |
| 2012 | Semifinals | UW–Oshkosh | W, 28–14 |
| 2012 | Stagg Bowl | Mount Union | L, 10–28 |
| 2014 | First round | Wartburg | L, 31–37 |
| 2015 | First round | La Verne | W, 57–14 |
| 2015 | Second round | St. John's (MN) | W, 38–19 |
| 2015 | Quarterfinals | Wabash | W, 38–7 |
| 2015 | Semifinals | Linfield | W, 38–17 |
| 2015 | Stagg Bowl | Mount Union | L, 35–49 |
| 2016 | First round | Northwestern (MN) | W, 43–0 |
| 2016 | Second round | Coe | W, 55–6 |
| 2016 | Quarterfinals | UW–Oshkosh | L, 31–34 |
| 2017 | First Round | Eureka | W, 47–8 |
| 2017 | Second Round | Berry (GA) | W, 29–13 |
| 2017 | 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 March 19, 2025.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2029 |
| Lindenwood | @ North Dakota | Harvard |
| @ Idaho | Southern Utah | |
| @ North Dakota State | | |
| TBD | | |