By Howie Hanson
DuluthJournal.com
Greg Carlson seems to be an ideal fit as the College of St. Scholastica’s first head football coach.
A former defensive line and linebackers coach for the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League and a former 18-year head coach at Wabash College in Indiana, Carlson has hit the ground running since he arrived on the St. Scholastica campus in mid-May 2007.
“I’ve always wanted to be part of starting a collegiate program,” said Carlson, who had an impressive 112-57-12 record at Wabash. “I researched schools starting programs and St. Scholastica, with its strong academic history and success in other sports, stood out among the four schools that I heavily researched. Once I interviewed at St. Scholastica, I was 99-percent convinced that if I was offered the job that I would accept it.”
The coaching staff is in place (St. Scholastica hired its first full-time football assistant last August, and a second full-time assistant in January), over a year of recruiting is almost completed, the new equipment has arrived and some of the fruits of Carlson and his staff’s labor will be showcased on Aug. 25 when the new Saints hold their first official workout at the school’s new field turf practice facility on campus.
Carlson said he couldn’t be happier with the support he’s received from the school and local high school coaches and players, who continue to respond favorably to St. Scholastica’s launching of the Twin Ports’ third collegiate football program (UMD and Fond Du Lac also offer football).
“We’re about 14 months into building the St. Scholastica football program, and I continue to be very impressed with the welcoming attitude by the people who were directly involved with my hire and the initiation of the program,” said Carlson. “Tony Barrett, who was the athletic director at the time of my hire, and Brian Dalton, vice president for enrollment and a person who was very involved in the football initiative, did their homework and have followed through on committing the resources for us to run a first-class program.
“We’re sitting here today, at the end of July, and not wanting for anything as we wait for workouts to begin. They’re putting down the field turf at the football and soccer field, and we’re expanding the Burns Wellness Commons. We couldn’t have asked for an easier transition.”
The Saints will play their inaugural game Sept. 20 at Wisconsin Lutheran in Milwaukee. Wis.. St. Scholastica has eight games on the schedule, including two home games apiece at Minnesota Duluth and at Public Schools Stadium.
St. Scholastica will compete in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
“We had a ninth game scheduled, but our opponent dropped us,” said Carlson. “We’d like to get to 10 games.” (See Saints’ ’08 schedule)
Carlson said he expects up to 17 area players to be among 85-90 players expected to show up for the start of preseason workouts. He said no players will be cut from the team.
“It appears that this area of the state has been under-recruited, and we’re bringing in some pretty good players,” said Carlson. “We have five kids coming in from Superior, and four apiece from Duluth Central and Denfeld — all quality football players.”
What type of student-athlete is St. Scholastica Football recruiting?
“First and foremost, we want the young man to be a serious student who will go to class, will give a good account of himself in the classroom and will graduate in four years,” said Carlson, who has a Master of Education degree in physical education from the University of Oklahoma. “It’s a disservice to the school and team if you bring in a young man who can’t make it academically. Secondly, we want a young man of good character and citizenship. We want a man who will make a commitment to being a full-time football player, who still has the fire in his belly and wants to compete and achieve.”
Carlson is married with two adult children. A daughter is a personal trainer in California and a son is a video coordinator for an indoor football league team.
“Our entire family is big into water sports, and I continued be intrigued by this area which has a lake around every curve,” he said. “The people here are very warm and friendly, and the woods and hills are beautiful. I’ve spoken at the local Rotary and Lions groups and at about three or four churches about our new football program and it’s a very typical response: ‘We love St. Scholastica’.”
