By Frank Rajkowski, SJU Writer/Video Producer

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Gary Fasching '81 and Bubba Sullivan '89 graduated from Saint John's University a few years apart.

But the veteran Minnesota football coaches have nonetheless known each other for many years now – dating back to the spring of 1989 when Sullivan (then a senior at SJU) was student-teaching at St. Cloud Cathedral High School where Fasching was already head coach.

Fasching went on to lead the Crusaders to state titles in the old Class B in both 1992 and '93 before leaving in 1995 to join the Johnnies coaching staff as an assistant to legendary head coach John Gagliardi – the man he eventually succeeded upon Gagliardi's retirement in 2012. Fasching was inducted into Cathedral's Athletic Hall of Fame in early February.

Sullivan (right, courtesy of Jordan Osterman, Northfield News), meanwhile, became the head coach at his alma mater Northfield (Minn.) High School after graduating from SJU in 1989 and remained there the next 32 seasons – winning 208 games and leading the Raiders to the Class 4A state title in 1997. He announced his retirement in the spring of 2021.

"I remember meeting him back then," Fasching said. "Then over the years when he was at Northfield, where he did such an outstanding job, we recruited a number of his players. That was one of the schools I went to in person so we crossed paths a lot."

The two will get another chance to reconnect on April 2 when the Minnesota Football Coaches Association holds its annual Hall of Fame banquet at the Doubletree Hotel in Minneapolis. Both Fasching and Sullivan are among this year's class of inductees – Sullivan in the high school division and Fasching in the college.

"It's a great and humbling honor," Sullivan said. "I certainly wasn't expecting it at all. When you look at the names of the other coaches who have been inducted over the years, it's a pretty amazing list. 

"It feels really good to be considered worthy of being a part of that group."

Sullivan's father Bob is a 1959 SJU graduate who got his start in coaching under Gagliardi as a student in Collegeville. He went on to success as a head coach at the high school level before taking over at Carleton in 1979.

There, he helped oversee the Knights' jump to the MIAC in 1983 and recorded a school-record 109 victories, retiring following the 2000 season. His most successful year came in 1992 when Carleton won the MIAC title and advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs for the only time in program history.

He has already been inducted into the MFCA Hall of Fame, meaning his son will now join him there.

"He was obviously my biggest role model," Bubba Sullivan said of his father, who later served as a volunteer assistant for his son during his last 18 seasons at Northfield. "And it's great that I now get to join this fraternity with him. So much of the way I approached the game as a coach was influenced by him."

Sullivan's older brother Tim also attended SJU and played football for the Johnnies in the early 1980s. But despite being a standout quarterback at Northfield, Bubba was more of a hockey player.

And it was that sport that convinced him to follow in the family footsteps to Collegeville.

"I was a hockey player, and Carleton did not then and doesn't now have a varsity hockey program," Sullivan said. "So I decided to come to Saint John's where I ended up playing hockey for four years."

Then, after his brief stint working with legendary baseball coach Bob Karn at Cathedral, he returned to Northfield where he would spend over three decades as the head football coach.

"I sort of assumed I'd end up being a head hockey coach, but when I was applying for jobs as an English teacher, so many of the positions that were open at the time were paired with head football openings," said Sullivan, who still teaches at Northfield. "I was lucky enough to land a job that let me come back to my hometown. Looking back, it's clear I wasn't ready. But some of my former coaches were still on the staff and they helped a lot. My Dad was in town (at Carleton) and I could draw on his experience as well.

"I had a great athletic director in Kevin Merkle (who went on to be an associate director with the Minnesota State High School League and is now retired) who could not have been more supportive. Those guys really helped get me through my first four years."

Fasching played linebacker for the Johnnies before graduating in 1981. He went on to become the head coach at Cathedral from 1986-95, then joined Gagliardi's staff as an assistant coach in charge of recruiting and the defensive line. 

He was part of the staff that led the Johnnies to the 2003 Division III national title and eventually took over from Gagliardi when the winningest coach in college football history retired following the 2012 season.

He has gone on to record 81 wins over eight seasons (SJU did not play games in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), which stands as the second-most in program history. Under his watch, the Johnnies have won four MIAC titles and have now advanced to the Division III playoffs at MIAC-record seven-straight seasons – including a berth in the national semifinals in 2019.

He has also been named MIAC coach of the year five times (2014, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021).

But despite all that, he too said he was surprised to get the call informing him he'd be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

"When they called me, I was speechless," Fasching said. "I truly didn't know what to say. It's just an amazing and humbling honor to be included with so many of the other great names – including John (Gagliardi) – who have been inducted over the years.

"It was surprising because I have no plans to retire anytime soon. We still have a lot of unfinished business here. A lot of times when people are inducted into hall of fames, it comes after they've retired or are no longer here. But I'm really grateful to be receiving this honor now."

It comes on the heels of his induction into the St. Cloud Cathedral Hall of Fame earlier this year.

"That was an amazing honor too," said Fasching, who reports that he is feeling pretty close to back to normal after a serious bout with COVID that left him hospitalized for well over a week at the end of the football season last fall.

"It's really a testament to a lot of different people besides just me. It starts with players and I've been lucky enough to have so many great guys who have played for me over the years. Then it's about your assistant coaches. I've long said I have the best staff in the country here and that's made a big difference in what we've been able to accomplish.

"So I may be getting the credit, but all those guys share in these honors with me."