A NASCAR Hall of Famer who was the 1983 champion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and had three Daytona 500 victories, among numerous other titles and championships. Bobby Allison has won on 27 different tracks and had at least three wins in every NASCAR major. He ended his career with 85 victories and was named one of NASCAR’s “50 Greatest Drivers.” He was also a seven-time Most Popular Driver Award-winner.

A Jesuit priest and an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Detroit Mercy, having previously taught in the Theology and Religious Studies department at Seattle University for 13 years. He is also the author of a book called, “Catholic Perspectives on Sports: From Medieval to Modern Times,” and the editor of a book on sports and Catholic youth that was just listed as one of the top ten books on sports and Catholicism in the last decade. He was also on the Papal Commission at the Vatican for Sport & Spirituality. And, not only has he coached sports at the high school and college levels, but, he was a captain of his college football team and an All Conference free safety.

The Director of Athletics AND the Head Men’s and Women’s Tennis Coach at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, where he has led those two teams to a combined seven conference championships and been named the Coach of the Year five times since taking over as head coach for the 2016-17 season. He had previously worked at a Catholic high school and is currently pursuing a Master’s of Theology.

For more than four years now he has been the head women’s soccer coach at Ave Maria University, where last November he was named the Sun Conference Coach of the Year after guiding the team to the best season in the history of the program. He also last year became the winningest coach in conference play in program history. Before taking the job at Ave Maria he was the head coach of the Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School girls’ team for three years. He is licensed by the United States Soccer Federation and is an alumnus of his current employer.

He played over 250 regular season and playoff games combined in the National Hockey League with two different franchises in addition to playing overseas in the Swedish Elite League. He went on to be a scout for the Vancouver Canucks and later joined his fourth NHL franchise, the Columbus Blue Jackets, as an assistant coach. He also was an assistant coach in the American Hockey League and nowadays has been the head coach of the University of North Dakota men’s hockey team since just over six years ago. In 2016 he became the first rookie head coach in NCAA men’s ice hockey history to win a national championship.

He spent 25 years as a referee in the NBA, officiating over 1,400 regular season games, 240 playoff games, 23 NBA Finals games, and two All-Star Games. He has also been a rules analyst for ESPN/ABC. Earlier in his career he was a referee in the CBA, which followed time that he had spent as a minor league baseball umpire, himself having played in the Baltimore Orioles’ organization at the minor league level after pitching for Temple University. In high school he had achieved All-Catholic honors in both baseball and basketball in his Junior and Senior years. Four years ago he was inducted to the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame, and last month he was the recipient of Sports Faith International’s Father Smyth Award. In 2019 he was ordained a Deacon in the Catholic Church and just celebrated the two-year anniversary.

Faith-wise, she tells a story here of having a reversion to the faith with her husband after a significant life event. Sports-wise, she worked for college football’s Fiesta Bowl for two years, the National Hockey League’s Arizona Coyotes for eight years, and at the Central Hockey league for seven years. As a student-athlete she had played both softball and volleyball, and, present day, she still participates in a couple sports recreationally. She is the Executive Director of the Arizona chapter of HopeKids, which provides ongoing events, activities and a powerful, unique support community for families who have a child with cancer or some other life-­threatening medical condition.

He was a wrestler for Saint Benedict’s Prep School – ranking #2 in his senior year, when he was undefeated in dual meets – and then went on to become the coach of their freshmen and JV wrestling teams.  Earlier on he had played baseball and basketball.  Presently he is a deacon in the Catholic church and travels across the U.S. and around the world speaking at conferences, workshops, retreats, parish missions, high schools, and young adult events. He has a Master of Theological Studies Degree and, among other works, is the author of the best-selling book, Behold the Man: A Catholic Vision of Male Spirituality.

He was a running back for four years at North Dakota State University, capped off by a senior season in which he was named All-Missouri Valley Football Conference first team as a fullback. In high school he had been an all-state running back and was even named to the 2012 Minnesota Vikings all-state team and Associated Press all-state second team. In addition, he was an outstanding wrestler in high school, winning the 2012 state championship. Along the way he, unfortunately, went through a major event in his family. Nowadays he is the co-founder of and head trainer at Rise Training & Fitness in Minnesota.

The President and Executive Director of the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association for more than 20 years, AND he is the President of the Association of Catholic Coaches and Athletes, which he formed ten years ago. He played, coached, and umpired baseball at the collegiate level and at one point even traveled to England, Germany, Brazil, and Nicaragua as a Major League Baseball International Envoy (Diplomat) Coach to teach and promote baseball. During this interview he also mentions having a brother who is a priest.