Hello supporters of Cardinal athletics
 
I hope you are enjoying the transition to Fall, one of the best times to live and work on Saint Mary's Winona Campus. Is there ever really a bad time? Welcome to our inaugural Cardinal Excellence Fund e-newsletter. Once again, the Cardinal Excellence Fund is the annual fundraising arm of Cardinal athletics. It's made up of numerous individuals and organizations who choose to support Cardinal student-athletes on an annual basis.

The Cardinal Excellence Fund has made great strides in the last few years, and we look forward to continuing the positive impacts made on a daily basis for our current and future Cardinal student-athletes. I thank everyone who has supported our student-athletes as well as those considering support in the future. This newsletter serves as an avenue to celebrate the great impacts your support is making on Cardinal athletics and to provide you with information on special events that take place throughout the year as well as updates on the great accomplishments our student-athletes and staff are achieving. Also, check out the work our current student-athletes are doing in preparation for their careers, and check out the great things our alumni are up to.  

The 2022-23 academic year is in full swing, with fall sports in play and winter and spring sports gearing up for their seasons. We are excited about the improvements we are looking to make
within Cardinal athletics: Renovations of our men's and women's soccer and volleyball locker rooms, as well as other facility projects including modernizing our Hall of Fame space on campus. Further, we are excited to celebrate 50 years of Title IX and the impact it has had on women in sports. We're planning a weeklong celebration next semester (more details to come). Additionally, as part of that celebration, the inaugural Saint Mary's alumni in sport panel will showcase the amazing things our alumni are accomplishing. We are excited to soon announce our new class of the Saint Mary's Sports Hall of Fame, to be celebrated at our upcoming March 11 Cardinal Excellence Fund Dinner.  

We look forward to a great year for Cardinal athletics. Our successes are your successes. Because of your continued support, our students are excelling in competition, in the classroom, and in service.  
 
Please enjoy this inaugural issue, and thank you for supporting our student-athletes.  
 
Brian Sisson 
Athletic Director
 

Saint Mary's University would like to thank Edina Realty as our Cardinal Excellence Fund E-newsletter sponsor

CARDINAL EXCELLENCE FUND YEAR IN REVIEW

Despite the challenges we have all faced these past two years, we feel it's important to highlight the positives of this past year in Saint Mary's University athletics. Read more

IMPORTANT CARDINAL EXCELLENCE FUND DATES TO PUT ON YOUR CALENDAR March 11, 2023 - Sports Hall of Fame Induction and Dinner July 14, 2023 - Men's Hockey/Baseball Golf Outing September 9, 2023 - Cardinal Excellence Fund Golf Outing

CARDINAL STUDENT-ATHLETE AND STAFF HONORS

Academic honors - a whopping 72 student-athletes earned Academic All-MIAC recognition for the winter-spring semster. Read more Student-athletes honored for volunteer-hours - Saint Mary's student-athletes made it a clean sweep of the NCAA Division III Team Works Service Challenge, once again sitting atop the team standings over the second semester. Read more Nadeau lands national writing awards - Saint Mary's University sports information director Donny Nadeau B'85 collected three writing awards as part of the College Sports Information Directors Fred J. Stabley Writing Contest. Read More

CARDINAL EXCELLENCE FUND GOLF OUTING - A GREAT SUCCESS!

The 2022 Cardinal Excellence Fund Golf Outing was a great success. The event saw it's largest turnout in several years. Thank you to all who participated and provided sponsorships for this annual gathering.

2021-2022 STUDENT-ATHLETE AWARDS

It was a year to remember for Cardinal student-athletes. On Sunday, Sept. 11, the "Best in the Nest" student athlete awards were announced. Read more

ALUMNI AND CURRENT STUDENTS RECENT STORIES

Fastenal internship put Swanson on fasttrack to career - The Saint Mary's University senior, who is triple majoring in marketing, management, and business intelligence analytics, spent his summer in an immersive solutions analyst internship at Fastenal, a global industrial supply company, headquartered in Winona. Read more Practical hands-on education for the real world - David Dahlstrom B'10 remembers his Strategies presentation like it was yesterday. Now director of investor relations for Hormel Foods, Dahlstrom returns to his alma mater three times a year, twice a year to judge the Strategies competition. Read more Recent grad to run, walk, or Rollerblade to raise money for Minnesota special hockey team - Jordan Keeley B'22, a recent Saint Mary's graduate, used her summer to go the extra mile … actually, the extra 250 miles. Keeley ran, walked, or Rollerbladed 250 miles in 100 days to raise funds for the Minnesota Special Hockey team based in Rochester, Minn. Read More