The academic culture of St. Thomas football is demonstrated through four senior athletes who were selected for the 2019 coSIDA Academic-All District team.

Elijah Rice, Nick Raddatz, Grant Slavik and Stephen Wagner are up for national All-American consideration; the football team has produced eight coSIDA Academic All-Americans and many more runners-up in this decade.

“I think it’s an unbelievable testament to the culture of our team that our men understand that they are student athletes,” head football coach Glenn Caruso said. “And that’s not just a catchphrase.”

In 2018, the football team set a national record of 18 selections to the National Football Foundation’s Hampshire Honor Society.

The only other team with more selections, across all divisions was Yale.

Caruso pointed out that “education through sport” goes hand-in-hand with earning a degree. Last semester, 55 players— roughly half of the team— made the dean’s list.

“I’ve really enjoyed the opportunities that football has given me to be a student first, and a player at this university,” Raddatz said.

Caruso said at St. Thomas, there is no need to set aside time to make sure the athletes are keeping up with their grades.

“We respect our student athletes too much to babysit them,” Caruso said. “We mentor them, but we don’t babysit.”

Rice and Raddatz pointed time management as a major soft skill they’ve developed.

“That is a skillset that is quite rare,” Rice said. “Being able to practice that for years and years and years before even going into a job will be very beneficial for our success.”

Not only do players learn time management by balancing class and practice, they learn the importance of allotted time during practice.

“It’s very intentional,” Wagner said. “There’s very, very little wasted time.”

The soft skills they learn through the student-athlete journey translate to the workforce; last year, Tommie football placed 100% of its graduating seniors in full-time jobs by graduation.

“If all you’re here to do is score a touchdown or sack the quarterback, it’s not going to work out,” Caruso said.

Caruso stressed the importance of growth in every aspect of a student-athlete which applies to every player.

“He sets expectations for everyone on the team, and not just the 22 people who start and the guys who run special teams,” Raddatz said. “He makes sure that everyone knows that they have a role, whether they play zero snaps or 140 snaps on Saturday from one to four.”

Mia Laube can be reached at mia.laube@stthomas.edu.