Father of SMCMLacrosse
Athletic Accomplishments:
William Thomas Rowe is known as the “Father ofLacrosse” at St. Mary’s. In 1971, Tom, who was a St.Mary’s associate professor of art, offered to sponsorlacrosse on a club basis. A club charter was written and presentedto the student government association which granted modest fundingfor equipment. In his words, “with five old helmets fromJohns Hopkins and a kit supplied by the Lacrosse Hall ofFame,” a largely inexperienced crew began to practice. Unableto coach the club himself, he sought out United States NavalAcademy alumni then training at nearby Patuxent River Naval AirStation. Two Navy test pilots, Lieutenant Commanders Roger Kisieland Fred Lewis, who were both former All-American lacrosse players,volunteered to coach. Tom scheduled college B-squads, prep schools,and lacrosse clubs for the fledgling St. Mary’s team to playagainst; constructed goals and laid out the field. The 1971 seasonbegan with a combination of college and community players, most ofwho looked at a lacrosse stick as a “cudgel.”After one season, Fred Lewis transferred to the fleet. RogerKisiel continued as head coach for the 1972 season, providing theclub, at his expense, with team jerseys and after-gamerefreshments. LT Karl Volland, another all-American lacrosse playerwho was flying the F-14 at the base, became the assistant coach andin 1973, took over for Roger as head coach.
Tom, who was still the lacrosse club’ssponsor, wrote a letter to Duke University’s athleticdepartment in May 1973, in which he said, “Our 1973 squad wassmall and inexperienced for the most part. Many of the team membershave had only one or two years experience. However, we are losingonly three seniors this year and we expect some experiencedfreshmen in from the Baltimore area for next year. Next yearwe’ll be greatly improved. We are applying for membership inUnited States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA).”He successfully petitioned for varsity status and the team wasinducted into the USILA Division II for the 1974 season. When KarlVolland transferred to the fleet, the team faced a possiblereduction to club status. Tom had learned that, JohnSothoron (1997 Hall of Famer) had recently graduated fromTowson State and returned to St. Mary’s County. When offeredthe coaching position, John, who had been an All-American goalie atTowson, enthusiastically accepted and appointed MichaelLoughran ’75 (2010 Legend) as assistant coach.During John Sothoron’s tenure, St. Mary’s men’slacrosse team became a strong and integral part of the collegeexperience. By 1980, the team was nationally ranked and producingall-American players.
In spring 2004, former players Mike Fraioli ’97,Jim Rogalski ’97, Eric Cotton ’93, andJim Mohler ’96 wanted to raise funds for themen’s lacrosse team in Tom’s honor. They all knew him,his love of the sport, and his friendship and fondness for team.They also knew that Tom was in failing health and wanted to honorhim while he was still living. The Tom Rowe Endowment forMen’s Lacrosse fundraising campaign was established with thehope of raising $10,000 by the end of 2004. Throughout the summerand fall, these four alums wrote letters, made phone calls, andsolicited donations from the men’s lacrosse alumni, theirparents and grandparents, former coaches, Tom’s friends andformer colleagues. By January 2005, over $30,000 in outright giftsand pledges had been raised, firmly establishing the endowment. Inrecognition of the men’s lacrosse alumni reaching andsurpassing the original goal of $10,000, the men’s lacrosseteam locker room in the newly renovated Athletic and RecreationCenter was renamed in honor of Tom Rowe, who had passed away in thefall of 2004. Contributions to the Tom Rowe Endowment forMen’s Lacrosse may still be made today.
