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Doug Deluca '06 Brings Football Back
Our very own Doug Deluca '06 recently received acclaim for his efforts in rekindling a football team for the University of Vermont. A great story is told
by Ed Shamy of the Burlington Free Press of Burlington, VT: This Article appeared in the Burlington Vermont local paper on June 3, 2007. For more information visit www.burlingtonfreepress.com
Football at UVM? You betcha'
By Ed Shamy
Where were we, University of Vermont football fans? Oh, yeah, Nov. 16, 1974, and we got shellacked 41-15 in Springfield, Mass., by America
To many students and alumni, football's banishment was a blow to the college-spirit solar plexus. Whether or not you enjoy or even approve of large men in plastic pads and tight pants careening into one another at high speed, football is part of our culture. There has gaped at UVM an athletic maw since football was sacked.
When Larry Lockwood scored the last-ever UVM touchdown on a one-yard run that day in 1974, Doug DeLuca hadn't been born yet, not by a long shot.
He's only 19 now, a Westport, Conn., boy barely out of his freshman year at UVM.
He faced a tough decision picking a college. He wanted to continue playing football as he had in high school, but he wanted even more to get a good education in business.
He enrolled at UVM with the understanding that his days as a wide receiver might be over.
But a few weeks into the semester, he saw possibilities.
DeLuca organized an interest meeting on campus and 40 guys turned out. He met with the club-sports director at the university. He made a pitch to student government, established bylaws, inquired about opponents, asked Chittenden County high schools if their fields were available, contacted alumni.
"I've been working on it all year, since October," he said last week. "Things take forever at school. I'm new at this."
New, maybe. But who knew that a 19-year-old could meet with risk-management experts and scheme insurance plans? Pitch the plan to potential sponsors? Who knew that he could offer a $1,500 flat fee to high schools willing to let UVM use their fields, while the football team would get the entire gate and the schools could benefit from concession sales?
Essex, Rice Memorial and South Burlington high schools are willing to deal with mogul DeLuca on those terms. Burlington is still considering.
DeLuca emerged as a wunderkind, shouldering the front office responsibilities and working the phones.
He's working at a New York City internship this summer, but he still comes back to Burlington on the occasional weekday to iron out the final details.
On Aug. 25, DeLuca's efforts bear fruit. The UVM Tackle Football Club -- the fightin' Catamounts -- is scheduled to play the Vermont Ravens, another startup, in Barre.
Outfitted in new green and gold uniforms with UVM helmets underwritten to the tune of $18,000 by a football-loving alumnus, the team will compete in the Northeast Independent Football League against six other teams in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
Student government at UVM will contribute another $11,000. That still leaves founder, general manager and wide receiver DeLuca with about $10,000 to raise. Given what he's been through, he's undaunted.
He's fueled by early success. There are four volunteer coaches, one of whom has already written offensive and defensive playbooks for team members to study in the summer months. There were a few indoor spring practices. First practice is scheduled for Aug. 13. The final insurance wrinkles are being worked out, though DeLuca admits that the final details are causing him sleepless nights.
"I really am looking forward to just putting on the pads and hitting somebody. I am really stressed out because now I've reached some obstacles like the insurance I just can't control," he said. UVM administrators are responsible for arranging for the required insurance coverage.
The 5-foot, 11-inch speedster out of Connecticut thinks the addition of tackle football, even as a club, can appeal to a long hidden portion of the UVM community.
"UVM is a great school. This can make it a little bit better-rounded," he said.
He's leaving no detail to chance; he's even thinking already about halftime entertainment. First up could be a campus a cappella group DeLuca knows of. He sings with them.
Imagine Saturday night home games, the green and gold dashing through the stadium tunnel to the roar of an appreciative crowd.
Even if Doug DeLuca drops every pass thrown his way and hits a sour note during the halftime show, he will have earned a free ride into the Hall of Fame.
Ed Shamy's column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 660-1862 or eshamy@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com
Back
Football at UVM? You betcha'
By Ed Shamy
Where were we, University of Vermont football fans? Oh, yeah, Nov. 16, 1974, and we got shellacked 41-15 in Springfield, Mass., by America
To many students and alumni, football's banishment was a blow to the college-spirit solar plexus. Whether or not you enjoy or even approve of large men in plastic pads and tight pants careening into one another at high speed, football is part of our culture. There has gaped at UVM an athletic maw since football was sacked.
When Larry Lockwood scored the last-ever UVM touchdown on a one-yard run that day in 1974, Doug DeLuca hadn't been born yet, not by a long shot.
He's only 19 now, a Westport, Conn., boy barely out of his freshman year at UVM.
He faced a tough decision picking a college. He wanted to continue playing football as he had in high school, but he wanted even more to get a good education in business.
He enrolled at UVM with the understanding that his days as a wide receiver might be over.
But a few weeks into the semester, he saw possibilities.
DeLuca organized an interest meeting on campus and 40 guys turned out. He met with the club-sports director at the university. He made a pitch to student government, established bylaws, inquired about opponents, asked Chittenden County high schools if their fields were available, contacted alumni.
"I've been working on it all year, since October," he said last week. "Things take forever at school. I'm new at this."
New, maybe. But who knew that a 19-year-old could meet with risk-management experts and scheme insurance plans? Pitch the plan to potential sponsors? Who knew that he could offer a $1,500 flat fee to high schools willing to let UVM use their fields, while the football team would get the entire gate and the schools could benefit from concession sales?
Essex, Rice Memorial and South Burlington high schools are willing to deal with mogul DeLuca on those terms. Burlington is still considering.
DeLuca emerged as a wunderkind, shouldering the front office responsibilities and working the phones.
He's working at a New York City internship this summer, but he still comes back to Burlington on the occasional weekday to iron out the final details.
On Aug. 25, DeLuca's efforts bear fruit. The UVM Tackle Football Club -- the fightin' Catamounts -- is scheduled to play the Vermont Ravens, another startup, in Barre.
Outfitted in new green and gold uniforms with UVM helmets underwritten to the tune of $18,000 by a football-loving alumnus, the team will compete in the Northeast Independent Football League against six other teams in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
Student government at UVM will contribute another $11,000. That still leaves founder, general manager and wide receiver DeLuca with about $10,000 to raise. Given what he's been through, he's undaunted.
He's fueled by early success. There are four volunteer coaches, one of whom has already written offensive and defensive playbooks for team members to study in the summer months. There were a few indoor spring practices. First practice is scheduled for Aug. 13. The final insurance wrinkles are being worked out, though DeLuca admits that the final details are causing him sleepless nights.
"I really am looking forward to just putting on the pads and hitting somebody. I am really stressed out because now I've reached some obstacles like the insurance I just can't control," he said. UVM administrators are responsible for arranging for the required insurance coverage.
The 5-foot, 11-inch speedster out of Connecticut thinks the addition of tackle football, even as a club, can appeal to a long hidden portion of the UVM community.
"UVM is a great school. This can make it a little bit better-rounded," he said.
He's leaving no detail to chance; he's even thinking already about halftime entertainment. First up could be a campus a cappella group DeLuca knows of. He sings with them.
Imagine Saturday night home games, the green and gold dashing through the stadium tunnel to the roar of an appreciative crowd.
Even if Doug DeLuca drops every pass thrown his way and hits a sour note during the halftime show, he will have earned a free ride into the Hall of Fame.
Ed Shamy's column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 660-1862 or eshamy@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com
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