St Bonaventure’s Man With a Mission
by Bill Kintner
CINCINNATI – When the St. Bonaventure basketball team came to Cincinnati for the Atlantic 10 Championship, they left their pep band in New York. They didn’t bring their dance team. They didn’t even bring their cheerleaders. They brought someone even more important – Father Patrick.
Father Patrick is the team chaplain. Although he might pooh-pooh this idea, it is true that he is the symbol of the team dressed in his brown robe much like the old San Diego Padres mascot without the goofy grin. What he represents is St. Bonaventure’s commitment to Christian values, to doing things the right way and to the spiritual well-being of the St. Bonaventure’s community.
During a game you will see him sitting toward end of the bench leaning over and talking to players, jumping up to cheer, sometimes pumping his fist in the air, congratulating players and often smiling. He is almost always with the team. He leads their chapel program, prays publicly before meals and games; he prays privately with players and coaches. He attends practices, has been known to taxi players around by car when they need to be somewhere and even to sing the school’s fight song to get the team fired up at key times. He makes the long bus trips seem shorter when he is engaged in deep conversation with team members about life, the Bible, Jesus and the Christian faith.
This year has been a tough one for the Bonnies, as they have won just two games. Tonight the Dayton Flyers spanked St. Bonaventure by 30 points, 78-48. It wasn’t an easy night for the Bonnies, and tt hasn’t been an easy season either. But having Father Patrick there to put this game and season into the context of Christian mission probably helped the team make to sense out of this trying year.
Father Patrick said tonight after their pounding at the hands of Flyers, “We are proud of you. We are proud of how hard you worked. I cannot tell you how grateful the entire community is and how you lift us all up when you persevere.” In addition, he told them their gift lifts everyone up with them. He told them to seriously consider performing to give God glory. To succeed on the court and off the court is a way to make a return to God. He points to a Psalm that says, “How can I repay the Lord for all the good he has done for me?”
Father Patrick wants to make a difference by letting the team know that their gifts to play basketball come from God, and when they play well the players are giving glory to God who gave them those gifts.
“I would like them to always associate their successes with being blessed and to always turn those blessings out into the community,” explained Father Patrick.
The head coach of the Bonnies, Anthony Solomon, was brought in to clean up the St. Bonaventure program after a scandal that had to do with recruiting had thoroughly embarrassed the Franciscan University. Solomon, who is a born-again Christian, decided to bring back the chaplain program, which was discarded by the previous coach, Jan van Breda Kolff.
That is where Father Patrick entered the picture. He has a passion for college basketball that is just a notch under his passion for Jesus and his passion for serving others. Those passions tie him to Coach Solomon in a very deep and binding way.
“One of my favorite connections between Anthony and I is our faith. His love for Jesus Christ. His sense of living from an example set by Jesus Christ is my way of life too,” said Father Patrick. “There cannot be in my opinion a stronger bond between colleagues in terms of the administration of a program than faith. We are very much concerned about keeping our faith from the right sources. God and the scriptures in particular, are the right source.”
Father Patrick even gave an example of an exchange he had Wednesday morning with Coach Solomon where they talked about Chapter 37 in Ezekiel, where God took a pile of bones in the desert and brought life to them turning them into living, breathing men. They shared this with each other in the context of bringing a team and a program to life. That task is a lot like what happened in the desert in Ezekiel Chapter 37.
Coach Solomon feels tied to Father Patrick in a similar way. “He has become a very good friend to our staff and our young men. He is emotional and inspirational person for us. We really enjoy having him around. He is part of our young men’s positive experience here at St. Bonaventure,” said Solomon.
When you look at Coach Solomon and Father Patrick, you see how their faith motivates them. You can see why there is optimism about the future of St. Bonaventure basketball. It is more than just winning, which is still important. It is about doing your best in everything you do to honor God.
Ron Zwierlein, the St. Bonaventure Director of Athletics sees both of them as a good fit for the institution. “With Anthony’s Christian values and his values of life, they go well along with the Franciscan values which are part of our institution’s mission to develop a well-rounded individual. Father brings that part of it, the Franciscan values, where Anthony brings the Christian ideas and the Christian concept to life.”
One of the other basketball-related responsibilities he has is to help organize a group of students called the “Reilly Rowdies.” The Reilly Center is the arena where they play their home games. Father Patrick attempts to spark enthusiasm with students at the games without having it degenerate into crude or obscene chants that are common at other schools. His goal is to channel the students’ energy in a more positive direction.
It is almost funny when you think of a group called the Rowdies that are guided by a priest. It seems like it wouldn’t work. But anyone who says that doesn’t know Father Patrick. He appears to be having a positive impact on the students and the entire crowd at the Reilly Center. For example, the crowd used to chant a two-word expletive that starts with the letter B when a referee would make what was perceived to be a bad call. Father Patrick got the students to instead chant the world pulpit. So now they express their disappointment with a call by chanting PUL-PIT, PUL-PIT, PUL-PIT! So he lets the kids go up to the edge but not over it.
There are also some fans at the Reilly Center that like to go after a player’s or coach’s personal life. Of course, this is not unique to St. Bonaventure. It happens on a regular basis at many arenas across the country. What Father Patrick did was create a group of students that have a number of rehearsed chants to drown out the more personal attacks that they quickly break out when the need arises.
Father Patrick is 43 years old and he does have a last name, Tuttle. (Father Patrick Tuttle of Connecticut.) Before becoming a priest, he managed a general store by day and operated a cleaning business by night. He said he kind of always knew he was more of a person for everybody, rather than a person for somebody. He had to figure out what that meant job wise. For him it was his calling to be a Franciscan priest.
“He has made a significant difference in our team. Going through the NCAA investigation this team was really torn apart. There needed to be a glue that held the team together and that was Father Pat,” explained Zwierlein.
As Coach Solomon and his coaches continue to march forward in this rebuilding process Father Patrick will continue to serve as the Christian role model, provider of Franciscan ideals, friend, cheerleader, mascot and yes, the glue.
I am still wondering one thing. What does he wear under that robe? When I asked he said it was one of his vows and that he has never told anyone. Well when you are as loved as Father Patrick is you don’t have to tell ’em everything.
Atlantic 10 Championship notes
- In game 1, Richmond (14-14) defeated Rhode Island (6-22) 68-60. Kevin Steenberge led the Spiders with 22 points while Rhode Island was led by Will Daniels with 22 points.
- In game 2, La Salle 910-18) defeated Massachusetts (16-12) 70-64. La Salle was led by Steven Smith with 19 points and Jermaine Thomas with 18 point and 6 assists. Darnell Harris also chipped 15 points. Massachusetts was led by Rashaun Freeman’s19 points and Lawrence Carrier’s 17 points.
- In game 3, Fordham (13-15) defeated Duquesne (8-22) 65-53. Fordham was led by Marcus Stout, who burned the Dukes for 31 points. Duquesne was led by Bryant McAllister, who scored 19 points.
- In game 4, Dayton pounded St. Bonaventure 78-48. The Flyers got 18 points from Norman Plummer. The Bonnies were led by Michael Lee with 14 points.
- During the Dayton game, the attendance was 5,872; probably 5,000 were Dayton fans.
- Under the heading of “tough town”, Dayton has played in Cincinnati 40 times in the last 23 years and has won just two times.
- Thursday games include Saint Joseph’s vs Richmond at noon, Xavier vs La Salle at 2:00 pm, George Washington vs Fordham at 6:30 pm and Dayton vs Temple at 8:30 pm.
