St. Clair Student Athletic Association buys AKO Fratmen football team

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State-of-the-art facilities? A brand new clubhouse with all the amenities? Did someone say giant dashboard?

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These are all foreign concepts to Mike Morencie, who began a 44-year relationship with the AKO Fratmen football team as a player in 1976.

Morencie thankfully and officially became the team’s former owner on Friday as the St. Clair College Student Athletic Association officially announced its purchase of the club.

“I really like the sound of that last one – ‘former owner,'” Morencie said, referencing St. Clair athletic coordinator Ted Beale’s introductory remarks to the media, college officials and assembled players. in the lobby of the college’s SportsPlex. .

Although the purchase price has not been disclosed, the terms of the agreement will see team president Morencie, head coach Mike Lachance and other Fratmen staff retain control of operations. football while the Student Athletic Association will handle the commercial side and game day operations.

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Athletic Association during a press conference, Feb. 21, 2020, at the SportsPlex. The Saints Student Athletic Association bought the football club in Morencie.” class=”embedded-image__image lazyload” data-src=”https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/windsorstar/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/st-clair-football.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=288″ data-srcset=”https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/windsorstar/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/st-clair-football.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=288, https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/windsorstar/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/st-clair-football.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=576 2x” height=”750″ loading=”lazy” width=”1000″/>

After a nomadic existence that saw the team move around town for practices and games, the Fratmen will call the college’s $20 million SportsPark soon to be completed for the upcoming 2020 season.

The new stadium will feature artificial turf, lighting, 1,500 seats, a media press box and a giant interactive scoreboard.

This is a far cry from the days of Morencie and the rest of the coaching staff meeting at a picnic table at Windsor Stadium to discuss strategy.

“If the weather was nice, we would pull the picnic table out into the sun. If it was raining, we would move it under a tree,” Morencie said.

Often the coaching staff would stay after practice to build benches, install lockers, or apply a new coat of paint to their last space.

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“We’ve had a lot of different homes over the last 10 years,” Morencie said. “It’s been a long journey to get here today. It’s been a really crazy trip, so to have a home, we’re really happy about it.

Since losing their traditional training ground at AKO Park, the Fratmen have based their operations out of Windsor Stadium, the University of Windsor and Lajeunesse High School.

“Thank goodness these places and people came to our rescue and helped us, but it was never enough,” Morencie said. “There’s never been any longevity to these moves.”

He describes the college facilities as “the final piece of the puzzle” to winning a fourth national title in club history.

“Now we will be able to recruit on a national basis,” he said. “I expect to play for a national championship at this park in November.”

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As has been the practice since 2014, Fratmen players enrolled full-time at St. Clair will each receive a scholarship of $1,250 per semester. Last year, there were 24 players registered at the college, although registration is not a requirement to play on the Ontario Football Conference team.

The ownership of a team by a student sports association is the first of its kind in Canada.

Last fall, when news of an impending sale leaked, the Canadian Junior Football League commissioner said there were no other similar partnerships within the CJFL.

“We wanted to be the first proud owners of a football team,” said SAA President Kshitij Punj. “We think this is a great opportunity for our students and with a new sports park we were looking to show off the facility.”

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Punj said the business side of running the club will attract students from several different backgrounds, including sports and recreation management, business, hospitality and security.

“We don’t know about all the new opportunities we’re opening up for our students,” he said.

SAA members unveiled the new look of the Fratmen jerseys and helmet featuring the college name and logo in St. Clair’s traditional green, white and yellow colors.

The Fratmen are recognized as the oldest amateur sports organization in Canada. Founded in 1929, the club has been honored by the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Morencie, who is Lachance’s defensive coordinator, bought the team from Fraternité AKO in 2014.

He said spring camp opens May 2 with the first exhibition game May 17 against Stevenson University in Baltimore County, Maryland.

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