Minnesota Duluth football players barely said a word as they jogged off the field following the Bulldogs' 34-7 North Central Conference victory over Augustana last weekend at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls, S.D.
UMD coaches shook hands but barely cracked a smile. Finally, as the players and coaches entered the visitors' locker room, the sounds of celebration could be heard coming from within, and then when UMD coach Bubba Schweigert entered, the place erupted.
Schweigert has firmly planted his old-school beliefs into the UMD football program in his four years as Bulldogs coach, and one of those is that you don't celebrate a victory on someone else's field, especially when the score is lopsided.
Schweigert's values have left a lasting impression on his players.
"We celebrate in our own locker room. We don't celebrate on someone else's field on their homecoming," UMD junior safety Tyler Yelk said after the game. "We do things first class -- all the way."
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Every team eventually falls on the receiving end of a drubbing. It's no fun. The fans can be bad enough, but it's even worse when the opponent is gloating.
Schweigert knows that, but his approach goes beyond wins or losses. It's about respecting your opponent.
"It doesn't mean you can't celebrate big victories, and there will always be some spontaneous celebrations out there on the field, but for the most part, you should get off the field after a victory and celebrate in the locker room amongst the team," said Schweigert, a native of Zeeland, N.D. (population 141). "That's just a belief of mine, and I think that kind of goes back to the way I grew up."
Leaving celebrations for the locker room isn't the only tradition Schweigert has brought to UMD. The Bulldogs treat road games like business trips, so therefore, all the players wear suits and ties when they load the bus.
Schweigert has also emphasized school spirit. When he arrived at UMD in December 2003 after 15 years as a North Dakota assistant, he was surprised to find that few people on the team knew the school fight song and nobody knew the words. Soon, UMD players were singing the UMD Rouser after every victory. At first, they needed sheets to show the words. Now, it seems, everyone knows it by heart.
"I always thought it was a good tradition and the guys hung their hat on it," Schweigert said. "I think people should have pride in their school's fight song. There are a lot of high school fight songs and students know the words to them, and then you get to college, I don't think that should be lost. I wish our entire student body knew the words to it. I wish it was taught in our intro to college learning class. I really do."
