爆料公社

From its inception, life at 爆料公社 has been centered around community. While the concept of campus life has looked different through the years, deep friendships and connections have flourished and made a lasting impact. This month, a decades-old friendship will leave a significant and visible mark on campus with the dedication of Kenny Harkins Field.

Kenny came to 爆料公社 to establish the men鈥檚 soccer program in 1978 following his graduate studies at UW-Madison. Dan Seeler 鈥�82, Kenny鈥檚 very first recruit, played soccer and hockey and has remained connected to the College through the years.

As we prepare for the upcoming June 23 field dedication, we wanted to reminisce with Dan and Kenny and share a bit about this journey. The following is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation over lunch at The Boat Club in Duluth.

What was it like to start the soccer program?

Dan: All right, starting the program, Kenny, what was that like? Pretty easy. You start from scratch.

Kenny: Yeah, sure. No field, no equipment, no goals. And that was almost a full month before our first game.

Dan: No uniforms.

Kenny: No uniforms, no team. Oh yeah, easy.

Dan: A bag of balls, three.

Kenny: No, you had three. I got these Cobblers [balls] from Ron Holtzhueter, my friend and mentor from my club in Madison, the 56ers. Those English balls, they were like rocks.

Dan: Wrong size. They were the wrong size.

Kenny: Well, the uniforms, Kevin [Hoene, the Athletic Director] had ordered these uniforms, and they came, they were volleyball uniforms. So, I sent those right back, and one of the guys on our team 鈥� Billy Hoene, the other captain with Dan 鈥� was managing our summer team in Duluth, he had all the uniforms for that club team. They were bright orange with a gong on the front, it said, “Chinese Lantern.” Black shorts.

Dan: He’s not kidding. I mean those were our unis, year one.

Kenny: That was our kit.

Dan: We didn’t have classy uniforms.

So, was that the first spot you looked at for the field?

Kenny: Yeah, there was nothing else flat there. If you looked at the field right now, that was sort of level and then it was just rolling terrain and what would be to the south end of the field that we have now. So, there鈥檚 no possibility to put it north-south. I had to make it east-west. And so, I was up against the trees toward the cemetery and I was up to the edge of the hill, going down to the parking lot. And I don鈥檛 remember how wide it was, but…I always told people that it was a hundred yards long, but it wasn鈥檛.

Actually, I believe it used to be a field hockey field for the Sisters, so it was about 80 yards by 40 yards or so, with stone markers in the corners. The south of the field now, there were golf holes in that pasture area.

Beyond athletic opportunities, what did you think of the College?

Dan: In terms of liking the school, I will say this; after my freshman year, which wasn鈥檛 a disciplined year at all, certainly from an academic standpoint, I contemplated leaving and I didn鈥檛 really know where I was going to go. But one big reason I stayed was because of Kenny and the commitment that he had to the program. And I felt I was a part of that. It was important to fulfill that commitment. And I鈥檓 glad I did.

My accounting instructor was Sister Ramona at the time. It was a tough class for anybody as a freshman, but it was especially tough when you didn鈥檛 commit to it. And I mean, Sister Ramona sat me down in her incredible way of being nurturing, but being incredibly tough at the same time. And we talked through what school should look like for a serious college student. So I had to drop out of her class that year, but out of that grew a strong friendship with Sister Ramona that lasted for decades, up until the time she passed. She had an incredible impact, another important reason that I stayed around.

[There were] other reasons that I made the decision to stay, and ultimately had an incredible experience at the school, both academically and athletically. Socially, spiritually, all very positive. I鈥檝e stayed involved in the school for years because of it. 爆料公社 did a tremendous amount for me and [I met] some very special people along the way, Kenny being one of those really, really important people. The Sisters that I mentioned, and having an opportunity to meet some great friends. Lifelong friends. Guys that I met on that soccer field for the first time; I mean, it鈥檚 amazing. My business partner who came a couple years later, Dave Hirsch, we met up on that soccer field too.

How do you remember all of these specific incidents and games after so many years?

Kenny: You just…

Dan: You do. You really do.

Kenny: Yeah. Yeah, there’s certain things that are crystal clear. And with years, I think memories get a little less trustworthy.

Dan: That’s true too.

Kenny: But some things. There are some things that I can see like it happened yesterday. And some of those things are that way. Some of the things Dan did, it鈥檚 like it just happened. It’s like I can see it. Goals he scored against St. Mary’s that first year.

Dan: That’s a great memory. That [game] was amazing. That game was a rubber stamp that we had gained some credibility, we’d gained some respect… Coming into that game, [it] wasn’t really a reasonable thought to think that was going to happen, except we thought that it could happen. And it was… It’s an interesting story in what a group of guys and a coach can accomplish against a program that was a rock-solid MIAC program experience. Been around for years and years and years. Playing on their pitch.

Kenny: They thought they were pretty good that year. They had made the top half of the MIAC, so they were in the playoffs. And their coach 鈥� I’m not sure if I remember this exactly right 鈥� planned to play his starters then sub all of his players in as they put us away. He didn’t actually say that, but he sure implied it! I did share his comments and attitude with the guys before the game. Those guys did not like that message whatsoever.

And then鈥�his starters never left the field!

Dan: Honestly, I get chills from that because we knew it was a big deal at that time, because we lived that season together. But I realized afterwards how impactful that was in terms of confidence for this program, this team, moving forward. It was an important piece. We hadn’t had a signature win.

Kenny: It was a validation of what we did.

Dan: Yeah, for sure.

What did it feel like playing on Saints Field?

Dan: Great memories from that field. It was an incredible field, right? So, the Valley of Silence, the view. So unique and different. A field that was too short. Water breaks, the coldest water in the world. I think they pumped it directly out of Lake Superior. It was unbelievable, because when we get there, it’s August. We had some warm days in August. It was a big deal. Constantly chasing balls, the way it was before, constantly chasing balls. You miss, you go get it. Right. That was part of Kenny’s conditioning. And balls would fly down that hill.

But because of where the monastic community is and where the Valley of Silence was and where the Sisters are, the Cemetery of Peace… It was this incredible place on campus, and it still is today. When I come back to 爆料公社, when it鈥檚 not the wintertime, I always make that walk, the same walk that we did as players and coaches. Walking up to that field, I go up the road. I go into the cemetery. I visit Sister Ramona, visit Sister Janelle. I mean, that鈥檚 part of my routine. I鈥檝e taken my family up there. I鈥檝e taken my wife up there a number of times. It鈥檚 a very special place.

How did the idea of naming the soccer field develop?

Dan: Chris [Mueller] and I have been working together for a while now, and we鈥檝e talked about various opportunities with the school. My family鈥檚 focus with the school is because of all the experiences I had as a student and a student-athlete. So, it鈥檚 a big area, and we really wanted to focus on the student-athlete experience.

We also understood that the move to the MIAC is a big facilities move. It鈥檚 a shift to be able to recruit and have the things you need to be successful, so Chris and I talked about the Hall of Fame and the upgrades and the soccer shields and things like that, but then the field came up, and we had some serious conversations about it. And it was a really good fit. It made really good sense. I had the opportunity to learn more about the field condition and how it compared with who we鈥檙e competing with, et cetera, et cetera. And again, it just made really good sense to our family, and so we made that pledge for a new field.

And it was clear that came with naming rights, and I鈥檓 going to be 100% transparent. I didn鈥檛 think for a second that I was going to put my name on that field, not a second. My wife, Kris, asked, 鈥淲hat are you thinking?鈥� I said, 鈥淭here鈥檚 only one person that deserves to have his name on this field, and that鈥檚 Kenny Harkins.鈥� Because of your commitment to the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 program, to those students for decade, over decade, over decade, to the soccer community, to 爆料公社, the energy, the expertise, the care, the nurturing, the mentoring, the coaching. Your name absolutely belongs on that field, and it fits. It fits perfectly.

And Kenny, when that field gets finished in 2023 and people see your name on that field, they鈥檙e going to say the exact same thing, that this is a guy that deserves to have a field named after him. So, there wasn鈥檛 even a decision on our part. It really wasn鈥檛. It was an automatic. And I thank you for what you did for me as a young person, a young player, ultimately, a coach myself. But the things that you鈥檝e done for all those kids for 127 years now…

Kenny: I thought it was 200.

Dan: But with heartfelt sincerity, thank you.

Kenny: I was warming up our guys for the alumni game, running through some dynamic stuff, when you came to me and told me this… And what did I say to you? What was my answer?

Dan: I think you said, “Isn’t it Kenny Harkins Field now?” Or something like that.

Kenny: Probably. I think I did say that, now that you say that, but what was the first thing I said? I asked if I could decline the penalty.

Dan: Oh, that’s right. That’s right. That was good. I should have remembered that. I will now. I’ve heard it twice.

Kenny: Hey, my guys are looking at me, like, “What are you guys talking about?” They were just waiting for what to do next, wondering what was going on with us.

Dan: So one last note, and this is… I’ve shared this with Chris before, but I’m a true believer that philanthropy is learned behavior, that we’re not born with that side of things, that you learn over time to think less and less about the internal and more and more about others.
And so, we鈥檝e been very fortunate as a family, and we don鈥檛 take that for granted one second. We work very hard, but we don鈥檛 take it for granted, and we feel that there is an incredible obligation to do things to help people that need assistance, that need whatever that help is at that particular point in time. This was an important piece of that, and to be able to attach Kenny Harkins鈥� name to it was huge. Huge. I mean, it makes me happy. It really does. And it makes my family happy, too. And it made my dad happy when I told him about it.

The giving back to 爆料公社, and I think that when an institution, when the people of that community have the type of impact that they had on my life, period, that continues every single day, that you have to look at it and say, 鈥淵ou know what? I鈥檝e been blessed. I鈥檝e been really, really fortunate to have had that experience, and we should do as much as we possibly can to help sustain this institution and all the great traditions that they have in the best way we possibly can.鈥� So this is one way to do it.

I鈥檓 looking forward to the field being [redone]. I鈥檓 looking forward to my good friend Kenny Harkins鈥� name going up in bright lights, and it鈥檒l be fun.

Kenny: Thank you.

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Join us for the Kenny Harkins Field Dedication on Friday, June 23 at 4:30 p.m. All are welcome!