By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter
He was tossed-off his college soccer team – so John Fox needed to find a new passion.
Lucky for Thomas More University – he did.
Coach Fox
“I was actually kicked-off the team at the University of Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri University of Science and Technology),” he told the Northern Kentucky Tribune. “I went from a 145-pound soccer player to a 225-pound beast.”
He said he had to adjust both his weight and strength.
And find a new sport to love.
He did – rugby.
“I got the bug,” he said, “and started my (rugby) coaching career at the University of Arkansas,” the 58-year-old Milford resident said.
And then – as often is the case – the pieces starting coming together.
Both for John Fox – and Thomas More University.
“A friend of mine was serving as Director of the Cincinnati Wolfhounds Rugby Club, when I moved back to Milford,” Fox said. “He told me a school in the area was starting a rugby program.”
The school – Thomas More College – now Thomas More University.
The team in action (Photo by Steve Oldfield)
It was the brainchild of then school president David Armstrong to start the program, according to Fox.
“In fact,” Fox said, “Armstrong started a rugby program at his previous school – Notre Dame College.”
Fox set some lofty goals for the new program in Crestview Hills.
“I had a three-to-five and 10-year plan,” he said, “And by year five I said we’d be playing for a National Championship.”
Pretty boastful – but he kept his word.
Fox and his rugby Saints won the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2021.
Why the instant success? “Easy,” the seventh-year coach said, “It’s how we recruit. We look for scholar-athletes – not student-athletes. And we have international players that certainly bring our play to a higher level.”
Mohale Sekhwela, a freshman from Johannesburg, South Africa – is one of 14 international players on a 20-man roster.
“I heard about Thomas More through a local agent at home,” he told the Tribune, “And then Coach Fox contacted me.”
Sekhwela says the transition to America – and Thomas More University – has been tremendous.
“I was in awe when I first got here. How different things were – the air, the food, the temperature. And as far as being homesick,” he continued, “only during the holidays.”
The Business Administration major says rugby here is not as technical as back home, yet the competition is pretty stiff.
“We have good coaching here,” he said, “The staff size may be a bit smaller than back home. In South Africa we had a Back Line Coach, Weight Coach and several assistants.”
The one thing Sekhwela had to adjust to – at least at first – was the food.
“Wow, I had some fast food early on,” he said, “And it made me real drowsy at first. I’m used to it now.”
Photo by Steve Oldfield)
Another thing Sekhwela and Fox as well as Thomas More University is getting used to is winning.
You might even use the word dynasty when talking about rugby at Thomas More University.
The team rolled-off 17 consecutive wins from 2021-22; lost just two games in the past three years and in 2020 won a national title.
The Saints were 11-1 in 2021; and won the National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) Division II National Championship defeating Adrian College in the finals, 21-17 — and finished 8-1 last season.
And under the Fox-led program, the Saints have had three players named NCR (National Collegiate Rugby) All-Americans and three players taken in the Major League Rugby draft.
Hudson Montgomery was named a Division II All-American in 2021 and a tabbed a Division I All-American the following season.
Matias Caramuti was also two-timer. Tomas Casares was named a Division II All-American last season.
In the 2021 MLR draft, Saints Fly Half Alejandro Torre was taken by the Dallas Jackals with the 23rd overall pick – becoming the first Saint ever to be drafted. In 2022, a pair of Saints – Tomas Casares and Matias Caramuti were chosen
Casares was selected in the second round with the 17th overall pick by the New England Free Jacks, while Caramuti was taken just three picks later – number 20 – by Dallas, joining his former teammate, Torres.
“We started with a few players from Argentina,” Fox said, “And we grew.”
Last season – in Division I – the Saints made it to the Final Four with Brown University, St. Bonaventure and Queens College in Charlotte.
“My job,” said Fox, “Is making kids better when they get here. I ask all of them, what they want their legacy to be.”
When they give the correct answer — they become Thomas More Saints.
The answer – “To make a difference on the field and in the classroom.”
You can easily say John Fox has made a difference – not only on the Crestview Hills campus – but worldwide.
