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| St. Scholastica photo by Jack Rendulich |
St. Scholastica coach Greg Carlson told his staff and his team earlier this week that he is retiring from the profession after six seasons at St. Scholastica and 27 years as a Division III head coach.
Carlson, an Indiana native, has been St. Scholastica's
only head coach in the program's six-year history. He has
built the CSS program from the ground up very quickly, as the
Saints have made the NCAA Division III playoffs the past three
seasons.
In his time at St. Scholastica, Carlson accumulated a record
of 39-22, including an 18-9 home record. He guided the Saints to
five straight Homecoming victories and 14 consecutive conference
road wins. He has also coached six First Team Capital One Academic
All-Americans, including a Division III-high four this past
season.
"I talked to several coaches that retired recently and they
all mentioned that there aren't circumstances or situations that
arise, that when these things happen it is time to retire," Carlson
said. "You know when it's time and I know what they mean now. It is
time for me to step away professionally and stop coaching football
at a full-time basis."
"He has done a truly outstanding job of developing a
foundation of success and a culture of excellence on the field, in
the classroom, on the St. Scholastica campus and in the Duluth
community," St. Scholastica Athletic Director Don
Olson said.
Carlson was hired back in March of 2007 and the CSS football
program's first season was the fall of 2008. Carlson spent 18 years
at Wabash College (Ind.) and some time as an assistant coach of the
Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League. However, Carlson
was always intrigued in starting a football program.
"I didn't know much about St. Scholastica, where it was or
what they were all about," Carlson described. "I actually talked to
John Baggs for about an hour one day on the phone and he was
probably the one person that said to not just apply, but go 100
miles per hour for it. It certainly was everything that John built
it to be."
After one win in its first season, the Saints recorded four
wins in 2009 and seven wins in 2010. Carlson's Saints then finished
a perfect 10-0 in the 2011 regular season to qualify for the
program's first NCAA Division III playoff appearance.
The Saints fell to eventual national semifinalist St. Thomas
in the first round that season. In 2012, the Saints finished 8-2 in
the regular season and ended up in a three-way tie for the Upper
Midwest Athletic Conference regular season title. After the Saints
were picked to represent the conference in the postseason, CSS fell
to eventual national semifinalist UW-Oshkosh in the first round of
the playoffs.
This past season, St. Scholastica was the preseason UMAC
favorite for the first time in program history. The Saints ended up
capturing their third straight UMAC title, but had to beat next
four-best teams in the league all on the road to do so. CSS would
face Bethel in the first round of the NCAA playoffs where it would
fall to the Royals in the final college football game ever played
at Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey
Metrodome.
"It has been remarkable experience here at St. Scholastica,"
Carlson reflected. "I think the college did a great job setting the
table to start a Division III football program. I was thoroughly
convinced when I interviewed that all the pieces were in place to
build a successful football program. Every second was
rewarding."
A national search will begin immediately to find a
successor. St. Scholastica's current assistant coaches will run the
program in the meantime and handle all the recruiting.
"We will not rush this process and make sure we have a
quality pool of candidates," Olson said. "We hope to have someone
in place as soon as possible."
The Saints will open the 2014 season at home against Ripon
on Sept. 6.