What started with a former Division II football player donating to his alma mater has grown into a tradition that now occurs at the division's championships and beyond, including the 20th anniversary of 9/11 on Saturday.
The tradition: honoring veterans and service members by having them hold American flags that spread across Division II athletics venues. This weekend, three Division II schools — Minnesota Duluth, Slippery Rock and Albany State (Georgia) — will continue this tradition before their respective home football games for military and 9/11 tributes.
Slippery Rock, for example, will have a variety of campus and community members, including those from the ROTC program, hold its flag Saturday before its football team faces East Stroudsburg. Earlier Saturday, Slippery Rock will also hold a 110 Flight Stair Challenge at its baseball stadium, where the community is invited to join first responders to climb 2,071 steps to represent the 110 floors of the World Trade Center twin towers.
"I love the flag tradition. I'm so grateful we were able to get it here to recognize such a significant day in our country's history," said Roberta Page, director of athletics at Slippery Rock. "The whole day is meaningful to everybody, so we've tried to bring our community together in ways that honor and respect it."
While there are now four of these traveling flags in three different sizes to fit different field and court dimensions, the tradition began as just one flag, at one school, on one day — Minnesota Duluth's Military Appreciation Day on its first home football game each year.
As part of this event, a combination of 80 to 90 military personnel, service members and student-athletes hold the flag before a home football game. Minnesota Duluth football players also have a sticker on their helmet representing a specific veteran they're playing for that game. And then there's the "Bulldog Walk," where the entire team is escorted through the tailgating area by 100-plus military members.
"Our first goal is to honor and appreciate our military, and I hope they know and feel that," said Karen Stromme, senior associate athletics director and senior woman administrator at Minnesota Duluth. "But it's also teaching our student-athletes and our fans about how we appreciate and honor the military too."
The annual event began in 2015, a time when Division II was searching for ways to align its member schools' passion for honoring veterans and service members.
"In Division II there was an impetus that there were so many people, so many campuses that were already doing things to honor military personnel that Division II could get behind it and help and give resources," Stromme said.
At that time, Minnesota Duluth came up with its Military Appreciation Day. Jill Willson, who consults with Division II on community engagement and membership initiatives, traveled to Duluth to sit on the planning meetings. That's when the flag idea was born.
"You know how the stars align?" Stromme asked. "When you have Jill Willson and then you have Division II, the stars align a little faster."
A former Minnesota Duluth football player and generous donor, who asked to remain anonymous for this story, helped align those stars, as well.
"It really began with, 'Let's do this right,'" Stromme recalled. "He went, 'When we have a flag, we're going to have a big flag.'"
So, the alum purchased the 40-by-30-yard flag for his alma mater to use during the Military Appreciation Game. His passion for the event stemmed from his involvement with Operation One Voice,a program that supports the families of wounded and fallen U.S. special operations forces. A former police officer founded the program to honor the first responders who died on 9/11.
"We had this Military Appreciation Day to honor all military, but (the alum) started minting a military coin for every year," Stromme said. "He would donate those coins, and we would sell them. And all of the proceeds would go toward Operation One Voice, and it started to grow and grow and grow."
Willson, in that initial meeting, wondered if there might be a way to expand the flag's use and purpose even further. She pitched the idea to Stromme and the alum to use it at Division II championships. They both instantly agreed.
From there, Division II purchased two "smaller" flags, one the size of a basketball court and another that could fit on a volleyball floor. These three have been shipped all over the country for the division's championships the past five years. This year, a second flag the size of the original was added. It will be one of the three on display this weekend. Additionally, a donation to Operation One Voice has been made each time they are used at a championship. Minted coins are also handed out at those championships.
"A lot of people over the last six years have held these flags," Willson said. "I just think the significant number of people who have been able to touch those flags and be part of the presentations is pretty remarkable."
Through the years and the flags' many stops, Willson said the impact they have had on those who've held it has stuck with her. They have been held by firefighters, Vietnam veterans, special operations forces, community youth and even the two teams facing off for the championship where the flag is being displayed, among others. She recalled an assistant coach at a men's basketball championship breaking down crying because of what the flag meant to him. She also remembers countless smiles from veterans and service members after helping hold one of the flags.
"It's been really touching to see, especially the veterans get so happy about being on the flag," Willson said. "It's been very rewarding for our student-athletes and coaches to get to be part of that."
