St. Ben’s hires Joe Bartos as school’s first flag football head coach

The College of Saint Benedict has announced the hiring of Joe Bartos as the first-ever head flag football coach in school history.

“What a phenomenal opportunity,” Bartos said. “My family and I are really excited to take this on. Being a college coach has always been a dream, and it’s just too intriguing of an opportunity to let go.”

This spring, Bartos will lead the Bennies in their inaugural season as a varsity flag football program. CSB will compete in the Midwest College Women’s Flag Football League, which includes Augsburg, Augustana, Bethel, Concordia-Moorhead, Gustavus, Northwestern, St. Olaf, Southwest Minnesota State and the University of Wisconsin–Stout, who won the first-ever MCWFFL Championship last spring. Bartos arrives at CSB with a strong football background as both a player and a coach. Bartos was a three-time letter winner at defensive back for the University of Minnesota Morris when the program competed at the Division II level. Since 2015, Bartos has been the head football coach at Little Falls High School, where he also led both the boys and girls track and field programs. Bartos has also served as a senior youth development coach in the Minnesota Vikings organization.

“I love the sport of football. I’ve been playing or coaching since third grade. I can’t imagine my life at this point without football,” Bartos said. “I just want to grow the sport beyond what it is and make sure it continues to develop, mature and expand.”

CSB Athletic Director Kelly Anderson Diercks emphasized Bartos’ vision.

“I was looking for someone who was going to be able to articulate a vision for the program, someone who was going to be able to find talented prospective students and sell them on why St. Ben’s would be the best fit for them as an academic and an athletic destination,” Diercks said.

Diercks also pointed out that Bartos’ experience coaching both boys’ and girls’ athletics at the high school varsity level really helped set him apart from other candidates.

“My questions for him were about jumping from boys’ tackle to women’s flag football, and the differences in coaching a different gender. But he’s been doing that with high school boys and girls track already so that was certainly something that made me feel comfortable in his experiences,” Diercks said.

Bartos echoed that sentiment, saying his diverse coaching background will benefit the new program.

“I think having a broader range of experiences that I can use and apply with the St. Ben’s flag football program is really helpful,” Bartos said. “I’ve learned more over the last 11 years; just how relational coaching is. As a head coach for both football and track, I think you naturally have a broader view of your entire program and the purpose of what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.”

As he begins building the program, Bartos said his goals include consistently winning, but also much more than that.

“We want to meet the mission of St. Ben’s, which is to empower the next generation of young women,” Bartos said. “We also want to build a competitive championship-level program with a player-driven culture. The goal is always going to be to win, but the mission is broader.”

Diercks expressed confidence in the program and its place within the growing landscape of women’s athletics.

“My hope is that Joe sees how much the school believes that we can be successful in flag football and that we want to be very competitive right away,” Diercks said. “Flag football is just starting its NCAA journey, and we want St. Ben’s to have a voice in what the future of football is going to look like.”

St. Ben’s hopes adding flag football will help attract students interested in playing at the collegiate level, especially as high school flag football continues to grow in popularity.

“We always want to be at the forefront of what’s happening with women’s athletics,” Diercks said. “We already know we have a great education here. When we can add a sport that high school prospective students are interested in and back it up with a great education, I really think we have a great product.”

Bartos is excited to get started and work with his new team as the season approaches.

“Being able to step up to a college campus and into a team environment where I know I’m going to have a large group of young women who are motivated, enthusiastic and passionate about this project is really exciting to me as a coach,” Bartos said. “There is a vibe and a feeling here that I think is priceless, and I am deeply excited to begin that journey with these young ladies.”