Since he took over for Steve Fritz in January 2019, St. Thomas Athletic Director Phil Esten has been working with others to decide the future of Tommie athletics.

Despite the enormity of that task, Esten said that the athletics department plans to improve the “student athlete experience” throughout the 2019-2020 school year.

Much of Esten’s time this fall has been devoted to figuring out what conference is best for St. Thomas athletics.

“It’s not only the right conference for St. Thomas today, but what’s the right conference for St. Thomas in the next hundred years?” Esten said. “It might not be the easiest move. It might be the easiest move. But it has to be the right move.”

He noted that regardless of what happens in the next two years, student athletes in general are resilient when facing adversity.

Sophomore volleyball player Frances Egan has confidence that no matter the choice Esten makes, it will be a good one.

“He seems super ambitious, he has goals, and I like that,” Egan said. “Whatever ends up happening, I trust that we’re in good hands.”

Leaving the MIAC will be one big change, but several more are coming in the next year. One of those is an internal reorganization of the athletics department’s structure.

Jemal Griffin was named the senior associate athletic director for Student Athlete Welfare and Development, a new position in the athletics office.

This addition will focus on collecting feedback from student athletes and providing them with resources and training they will need for life outside of sports.

“Our job is to create conditions for success, so our students can leave as the best versions of themselves,” Esten said.

From now on, each team will be assigned an administrator to oversee its needs.

“It’s going to offer a lot of support for our student-athletes; it’s going to offer a lot of support for our coaches,” Esten said. “It’s supposed to make everybody’s life easier.”

In an effort to further strengthen both the athletics department and the university as a whole, Esten launched the “Be Purple” video campaign in late August.

Egan was featured in the video, as well as junior men’s soccer captain Hal Houg.

“I hope that everyone who saw it felt that it was real,” Houg said.

The goal of the project is to promote positive character and spirit all year long.

Esten feels that the project will be most successful if students get involved to “catch people being purple.”

“We want you to be proud of who you are, act with integrity, be respectful of other people, be loud… but also do it with class,” Esten said. “That’s what purple means. That’s who St. Thomas is.”

In the midst of change, Esten continues to talk about “a proud past, but a bright future.” He has hopes that the future includes continuing the tradition of success.

“Let’s raise some hardware this year,” Esten said.

Mia Laube can be reached at mia.laube@stthomas.edu.