University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
Photo by: Eric Miller
Longbella Returning for Additional Season of Competition
4/21/2020 3:46:00 PM | Men's Golf
MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota men's golf team saw its spring season come to an end on March 12, 2020, when the Big Ten and NCAA announced they were ceasing competitions and championships because of COVID-19 public health concerns.
Less than three weeks later on March 30, the NCAA Division I Council voted to allow schools to provide spring-sport student-athletes an additional season of competition and an extension of their period of eligibility.
As a result, current senior Thomas Longbella has decided to return to the Maroon and Gold for a fifth season of eligibility. How he found out the spring season was cancelled and his decision to return to the team are chronicled in a phone interview with GopherSports.com, which is transcribed below and has been edited for length and clarity.
GopherSports.com: How did you find out the spring season was cancelled?
Thomas Longbella: "We were actually in Scottsdale, Ariz., in the middle of team qualifying for our first stroke play tournament of the spring. Prior to that, a lot of things had started getting cancelled. I think a couple players in the NBA had gotten the virus and they started suspending games and then it was a domino effect with cancellations in every big organization. And then we saw that March Madness wasn't going to happen and when we saw that was going to be cancelled we knew we were going to be cancelled.
"So we were on the 16th hole and Coach (Justin) Smith came around and told all the groups that our next event, the N.I.T. (National Invitational Tournament) was cancelled and we were going to try to find a flight home as soon as possible. At that point, we knew we weren't playing then but it was still up in the air if we were going to play at all the rest of the spring or still have Big Tens and the NCAAs because nothing that far in advance had been cancelled. And then the next day we were driving to the airport and we were reading Tweets about the NCAA's decision and finally our coaches told us it was suspended indefinitely. We were all thinking just how crazy it all was. Three days ago we were playing qualifying and getting our games in shape for the first tournament and then all of a sudden there was no season."
GS: Especially being a senior, how did you feel when you found out?
TL: "I was so bummed. This was really the first spring where I felt confident in my golf game since I've been at The U. Over the past three years I've had good falls, but then in the spring my game just hasn't been quite as good. But this spring was completely different. I felt like I was playing some of the best golf of my life over spring break and weeks prior. Overall I was just disappointed and shocked, but obviously I understood.
As soon as things started getting cancelled one of my first thoughts was what the chances were that we could get another year. Coach Smith said that the NCAA was already talking about it, so I just started focusing on that. I thought it would be pretty cool to come back for another year and be able to have another championship season instead of ending like this."
GS: You said this was the best spring you've had. Was there one thing you did differently or was it a culmination of things?
TL: "I would say it was putting together everything I had learned the past three winters and then trying to change things and doing something different this past winter. And then also just working harder and wanting it more. Our team was in a super good spot and I figured if I was in a good spot then we'd have a chance at everything this spring. I think that just motivated me to get better whereas in the past I don't think I had quite as much motivation."
GS: How was it presented to you that you might have the possibility to return?
TL: "I think it was a week or two after the season was cancelled. Coach Smith and I had basically been in contact the whole time because he wanted to know if it did happen what would I do, what would scholarships look like, things like that. When he told me that I was able to come back, I had already made up my mind. I was thinking that if they allowed me to come back I was definitely going to do it. Even if I wasn't going to get a scholarship or if there were certain limitations, I still wanted to come back and play another year."
GS: Why did you want to come back?
TL: "I think the biggest thing is that college golf is so competitive and so good that it's hard to pass up another opportunity. Weighing my options of what I wanted to do, there was definitely a clear difference between coming back to play in college compared to playing pro golf, especially in this time since I don't really know what anything is going to look like come fall or winter in terms of pro golf. It just seemed like the best bet.
"Plus I had to finish a couple classes, too, so I would've had to take summer classes anyway and paid for those so it wasn't like I was going to graduate and would've had to take additional classes or a new minor or something for next years, so that made it easy. But what it came down to was I thought coming back and playing another year of college will make me a better golfer at the end of the day. I just kept thinking about how when I'm 35 and looking back on it, how much I'd want another year. You hear people say that college is the best four years of your life, so I thought I'd have a chance to make it five."
GS: Is it safe to say that playing with your teammates and coaches again also factored into your decision to come back?
TL: "One hundred percent; that was the biggest role. I was more excited than I've ever been to play competitive golf with our team this spring. I believe we had a chance to make a run at NCAAs, so if you give me a chance to do that again I'm going to take it. It would be tough to have all those positive thoughts and the right mindset throughout the whole team and playing good golf and just end on that note, so having another year would be amazing to see what our team could do."
GS: What are your goals for your fifth season?
TL: "I think the biggest is to be a better leader on our team and be the guy who everyone looks to as someone who's been there and done just about everything and played so much college golf that they can turn to me for motivation or advice. I think that's my goal and what I want, but there are a bunch of goals. I obviously want to win NCAAs but I think where it starts is with goals that I can control. From day one I can start working on that and start trying to be better myself so that our team can be better altogether.
"I think one goal of mine specifically would be to get my game in the right spot for our Gopher Invitational. I haven't really played well there in my four years, and I feel like I should because I've played that course a lot and I'm comfortable there. I think that would be amazing for us to start the season off on a positive note."
GS: How have you been spending your time since the season ended?
TL: "I'm actually up in Grand Forks, N.D., visiting my girlfriend right now. I've been between here and my house in Wisconsin. Actually a couple weeks ago a course opened up in Wisconsin; it was basically the only county in the state that allowed a course to be opened. So I got to play golf for about a week and a half before we got some bad weather. So I've just been golfing, practicing, working out. It's been a weird time but it's been good to spend time with my parents and be with my girlfriend."
Less than three weeks later on March 30, the NCAA Division I Council voted to allow schools to provide spring-sport student-athletes an additional season of competition and an extension of their period of eligibility.
As a result, current senior Thomas Longbella has decided to return to the Maroon and Gold for a fifth season of eligibility. How he found out the spring season was cancelled and his decision to return to the team are chronicled in a phone interview with GopherSports.com, which is transcribed below and has been edited for length and clarity.
GopherSports.com: How did you find out the spring season was cancelled?
Thomas Longbella: "We were actually in Scottsdale, Ariz., in the middle of team qualifying for our first stroke play tournament of the spring. Prior to that, a lot of things had started getting cancelled. I think a couple players in the NBA had gotten the virus and they started suspending games and then it was a domino effect with cancellations in every big organization. And then we saw that March Madness wasn't going to happen and when we saw that was going to be cancelled we knew we were going to be cancelled.
"So we were on the 16th hole and Coach (Justin) Smith came around and told all the groups that our next event, the N.I.T. (National Invitational Tournament) was cancelled and we were going to try to find a flight home as soon as possible. At that point, we knew we weren't playing then but it was still up in the air if we were going to play at all the rest of the spring or still have Big Tens and the NCAAs because nothing that far in advance had been cancelled. And then the next day we were driving to the airport and we were reading Tweets about the NCAA's decision and finally our coaches told us it was suspended indefinitely. We were all thinking just how crazy it all was. Three days ago we were playing qualifying and getting our games in shape for the first tournament and then all of a sudden there was no season."
GS: Especially being a senior, how did you feel when you found out?
TL: "I was so bummed. This was really the first spring where I felt confident in my golf game since I've been at The U. Over the past three years I've had good falls, but then in the spring my game just hasn't been quite as good. But this spring was completely different. I felt like I was playing some of the best golf of my life over spring break and weeks prior. Overall I was just disappointed and shocked, but obviously I understood.
As soon as things started getting cancelled one of my first thoughts was what the chances were that we could get another year. Coach Smith said that the NCAA was already talking about it, so I just started focusing on that. I thought it would be pretty cool to come back for another year and be able to have another championship season instead of ending like this."
GS: You said this was the best spring you've had. Was there one thing you did differently or was it a culmination of things?
TL: "I would say it was putting together everything I had learned the past three winters and then trying to change things and doing something different this past winter. And then also just working harder and wanting it more. Our team was in a super good spot and I figured if I was in a good spot then we'd have a chance at everything this spring. I think that just motivated me to get better whereas in the past I don't think I had quite as much motivation."
GS: How was it presented to you that you might have the possibility to return?
TL: "I think it was a week or two after the season was cancelled. Coach Smith and I had basically been in contact the whole time because he wanted to know if it did happen what would I do, what would scholarships look like, things like that. When he told me that I was able to come back, I had already made up my mind. I was thinking that if they allowed me to come back I was definitely going to do it. Even if I wasn't going to get a scholarship or if there were certain limitations, I still wanted to come back and play another year."
GS: Why did you want to come back?
TL: "I think the biggest thing is that college golf is so competitive and so good that it's hard to pass up another opportunity. Weighing my options of what I wanted to do, there was definitely a clear difference between coming back to play in college compared to playing pro golf, especially in this time since I don't really know what anything is going to look like come fall or winter in terms of pro golf. It just seemed like the best bet.
"Plus I had to finish a couple classes, too, so I would've had to take summer classes anyway and paid for those so it wasn't like I was going to graduate and would've had to take additional classes or a new minor or something for next years, so that made it easy. But what it came down to was I thought coming back and playing another year of college will make me a better golfer at the end of the day. I just kept thinking about how when I'm 35 and looking back on it, how much I'd want another year. You hear people say that college is the best four years of your life, so I thought I'd have a chance to make it five."
GS: Is it safe to say that playing with your teammates and coaches again also factored into your decision to come back?
TL: "One hundred percent; that was the biggest role. I was more excited than I've ever been to play competitive golf with our team this spring. I believe we had a chance to make a run at NCAAs, so if you give me a chance to do that again I'm going to take it. It would be tough to have all those positive thoughts and the right mindset throughout the whole team and playing good golf and just end on that note, so having another year would be amazing to see what our team could do."
GS: What are your goals for your fifth season?
TL: "I think the biggest is to be a better leader on our team and be the guy who everyone looks to as someone who's been there and done just about everything and played so much college golf that they can turn to me for motivation or advice. I think that's my goal and what I want, but there are a bunch of goals. I obviously want to win NCAAs but I think where it starts is with goals that I can control. From day one I can start working on that and start trying to be better myself so that our team can be better altogether.
"I think one goal of mine specifically would be to get my game in the right spot for our Gopher Invitational. I haven't really played well there in my four years, and I feel like I should because I've played that course a lot and I'm comfortable there. I think that would be amazing for us to start the season off on a positive note."
GS: How have you been spending your time since the season ended?
TL: "I'm actually up in Grand Forks, N.D., visiting my girlfriend right now. I've been between here and my house in Wisconsin. Actually a couple weeks ago a course opened up in Wisconsin; it was basically the only county in the state that allowed a course to be opened. So I got to play golf for about a week and a half before we got some bad weather. So I've just been golfing, practicing, working out. It's been a weird time but it's been good to spend time with my parents and be with my girlfriend."
Crousore Bunker Shot: 2025 B1Gs
Monday, April 28
Galdos Hole-in-One: 2025 B1Gs
Friday, April 25
Gopher Golf Facilities
Sunday, August 18
Cinematic Recap: Gopher Invitational
Monday, September 18