USD Magazine Fall 2010

Austin Rodriquez ’13, a   member of last year’s football team, hangs out with young   Levi Hickey at a mentorship   program for autistic children.

TORERO  ATHLETICS

MORE THAN A GAME USD footba l l team seeks exce l l ence on and of f the f i e ld [ g o o d s p o r t s ]

TYLER MASSAS

by Nathan Dinsdale

season. In addition, Caragher’s emphasis on community service has sparked the team to make a significant impact well beyond Alcalá Park. “We want to nurture these young men in all areas, not just on the football field,” Caragher says. “When you’re a student- athlete, you’re held to a higher standard. I’m constantly impressed with our guys. They’ve done a tre- mendous job of being involved in the community and they’ve really bought into the idea that good

contingent that visited the hospital last October before a game against Butler University. The sticker was a gift from a feisty little boy sport- ing a Mohawk haircut in defiance to the scar on his head left from a recent operation. “He was awesome,” Tremblay recalls. “You could tell in his eyes that he was a fighter.” The same could be said for members of the USD football team. After all, it’s one of the university’s marquee varsity sports, yet the only athletic program that doesn’t

provide scholarships for its athletes. The result? Toreros are accustomed to battling for every inch. “Every one of them is playing football for the love of the game,” head coach Ron Caragher says. “They’re just as driven as scholar- ship athletes — except our guys have to come up with money to pay for their housing, their school- ing and their meals.” Their dedication on the gridiron has followed into the classroom; 37 USD players earned PFL Academic Honor Roll status last

T

he sticker on Paul Tremblay’s desk is a memento, a small token of appreciation bear-

ing the logo of the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis. It’s also a reminder. “It reminds me how lucky I am every day,” says Tremblay ‘11, USD’s hulking All-Pioneer Foot- ball League defensive lineman. “It was really an honor and a priv- ilege to spend even a few min- utes with those amazing kids.” Tremblay was among the USD

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