University of St. Thomas Athletics
MIAC Memories: Celebrating a century of Men's Basketball
6/24/2021 11:37:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Editor's Note: This is another is a series of stories on St. Thomas' rich history of athletic competition in the MIAC. St. Thomas is closing out its Division III and MIAC chapters and will join four new conferences starting in fall 2021 as part of its transition into Division I athletics.
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St. Thomas Men's Basketball-- MIAC Memories
Tommie MIAC Regular Season Championships (34)
1923-24, 1945-46, 1948-49, 1965-66, 1966-67, 1969-70, 1970-71, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1973-74, 1980-81, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1999-00, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2018-19, 2019-20 (none awarded in 2020-21)
Tommie MIAC Team Playoff Championships (13) (First held in 1986)
1989-90, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95, 2001-02, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2014-15
MIAC Coach of the Year (16)
Steve Fritz: 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009
John Tauer: 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020
MIAC Player of the Year Awards (10)
Scott Thompson (1990)
Brent Longval (1994)
Karnell James (1995 and 1997)
Mark Buri (2002)
Isaac Rosefelt (2006 and 2007)
Joe Scott (2009)
Tyler Nicolai (2010)
Grant Shaeffer (2017)
MIAC Sixth Man of the Year Awards (12)
Bill Schaffer (1989)
John Tauer (1992)
Jesse Radabaugh (1993)
Karnell James (1994)
Mark Swenson (1995)
Kip Sparby (2000)
Nic Marx (2003)
Bryan Schnettler (2005)
Al McCoy (2008)
Cortez Tillman (2015)
Burt Hedstrom (2019)
Elijah Hannah (2020)
More Basketball Highlights
- St. Thomas won an unprecedented 12 consecutive solo or shared conference regular-season championships from 2005-06 through 2016-17.
- The Toms made the MIAC playoffs 21 years in a row -- the last 21 years the event was held -- which set a league hoops record.
- The Toms won 47 MIAC championships (34 regular-season).
- St. Thomas' recent success has came in a conference known for its depth of quality programs: Ten schools have advanced to the six-team playoffs at least once in the last five years, and five of the last six MIAC men's hoops playoff titles were claimed by different schools
Did You Know?
The Toms received 16 of the 31 MIAC Coach of the Year honors and 10 of the 31 MIAC Player of the Year honors.
They Said It:
"It has been an honor for us to compete in the MIAC for more than a century. Personally, I have spent 25 years in the MIAC as a student-athlete, assistant coach, and head coach, and it is a league that will always have a special place in my heart. During that time, I have been continually impressed by the balance of academic and athletic excellence demonstrated by MIAC athletes, the collegial relationships and sportsmanship shown between schools, and the competitiveness across programs and sports over the years. Whether it was an Academic All-American hitting a game winning shot, coaches chatting before games, or hotly contested conference races, the MIAC represented so much of what is wonderful about intercollegiate athletics.
"Since 2010, an impressive seven different programs in men's basketball have qualified for the national tournament. That reflects a competitive balance where we knew every season there would be a handful of teams who could emerge from the hotly contested 20 game conference season and advance to the NCAA tournament. We have always felt incredibly well-prepared for NCAA play in large part due to the outstanding coaches and teams we competed against, all of whom played tough and smart, while playing myriad styles across the programs.
"I started attending UST basketball games in the MIAC as a 6-year-old with my father, John, a 1963 St. Thomas alum. Over the past four-plus decades, I feel grateful to have watched so many incredible games, forged so many friendships with teammates and opponents, and been able to watch so many of our players grow and develop as people and players. The MIAC is a special league that embodies the confluence of healthy competition, the pursuit of academic and athletic excellence, and winning with integrity. We thank our fellow MIAC schools for more than a century of outstanding memories!"
Johnny Tauer, St. Thomas head coach
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