St. Thomas has something special brewing early this fall.
After opening with a convincing victory over Lindenwood, the Tommies more than held their own last weekend in a 37-30 loss at nationally-ranked Idaho.
With a visit to Division-II Northern Michigan set for Saturday before the start of Pioneer Football League play, the Tommies have the look of a team capable of winning the league and qualifying for the FCS Championship playoffs in their first season of eligibility.
“I’m really happy with the continual growth,” Tommies head coach Glenn Caruso said. “That’s why we schedule games against non-conference opponents like Northern Iowa and Lindenwood, so you can see if you’re growing.
“And it’s obvious that we’re growing at a pretty fast rate right now. But not at the expense of the culture. And we’re doing it with great energy. It’s a unique team. I’d say we’ve probably had two or three teams that were like it over the last couple of decades.
“It’s one that, they work hard, they have a ton of fun, they love being around each other. But the really unique thing is that we learn and grow at a faster rate when we bring good energy for each other.”
Caruso sees that play out on the sidelines, as guys theoretically competing against one another for opportunities within a position group are one another’s biggest allies, and on the field, like when St. Thomas was down its top three corners against Idaho, but had a 17-year-old freshman step in.
“Those are the types of things that make me say I’m not only happy, I’m really proud,” Caruso said.
The early results are significant in that they came against teams that offer athletic scholarships. In their four previous Division-I seasons, the Tommies didn’t fare nearly as well against such teams.
“I’m not going to say that’s there’s not still a gap,” Caruso said, “but I think what we’ve said all along is that it’s not just about talent, it’s the right people doing the right thing the right way.”
It all adds up to what is looking to be a pivotal point in the program’s growth.
“I said from the beginning that to do this full transition, there’s three phases,” Caruso said. “In my mind, we’re at the very end of the first phase. I think a lot of people think we’re in the beginning of the second phase because of the playoff ruling. But that’s an external thing, something I don’t control or anything I allow my mind space to be used for.”
Caruso believes his team will reach the second phase when it has played as well as it currently is over an extended period of time.
“So it’s not going to be answered in a single game or a single year,” he said. “The lens we look through is a much longer lens than most other programs. That’s because I feel like it’s not that difficult to have a good football team.”
But he said it’s “wildly difficult to have a good football program.”
“The latter insinuates that you can replicate that over years of time — not games,” he said.
The Tommies’ recent success could have a direct impact on how aggressive Caruso and athletic director Phil Esten will be in scheduling the type of non-conference opponents that continue to measure the program’s growth.
The Tommies have three non-conference opponents lined up for next season — North Dakota, Northern Michigan and Southern Utah. Caruso said it is to be determined whether they had a fourth non-conference opponent.
After next year, the only other non-conference game that has been announced is a 2029 visit from Harvard.
“This season will tell us a lot as far as the right type of schedule for us,” Caruso said. “We’re still trying to find our way through that.”
Georgetown, Villanova and Holy Cross are three teams the Tommies hope to get on the schedule in the near future. They also would like to continue to play Ivy League teams. More compelling opportunities are out there as well.
“I’ve said many times that I wouldn’t mind having an FBS school on the schedule, but that day is not today,” Caruso said. “It certainly would have to be the right one. That’s never been out of the realm of possibility, it’s just never been what we’re focusing on right now.
“I want to make those decisions because it’s the right thing for our program and for our university, based on where we are as a program.”
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