Congratulations to our April Alumnus of the Month, Matt Di Francesco!
When did you play?
1983 – 1987
What positions did you play?
I started as a wing (which made no sense as I am quite possibly the slowest man alive at my size), then played both center positions and fullback. In 1986, I was participating in some adult beverages after my match and they needed a hooker for a C/D side match. I jokingly said I would, and was called on it, so I played and won every scrum (probably because I had quick feet from playing soccer.) So I fell in love with hooking and finished my career there.
What got you started?
I played high school football and adult league soccer, since we did not have high school soccer at that time. My freshman year I was going to join the club soccer team and, while getting ready for a practice, Dag Jorstad walked by my room and said I should try rugby. I went to a Thursday practice with him and that Saturday they threw the new guys into an Assassins/Narwhals game. None of us knew the rules, so we just ran around the field beating the hell out of each other and we all fell in love with the game.
Any honors or awards?
None that I can remember. I was pretty much a C and sometimes B side player.
What are your favorite memories/teammates?
Teammates: They were all a cast of characters, and I know I’ll miss some, so my apologies to any of them. Dag is the one who introduced me to the game and we ended up being housemates, so we had a lot of great memories. When I joined a fraternity, I introduced Jumping Joe Jerkins and Ted Conzelmann to the game. Nick Sartor and I started playing at the same time and I remember him in that first game picking up every loose ball and just running. Then the Olde Boys: Webber, Hagan, Ian Chapman, Greg Rose, Perpich, Masso, Hagerman, LeBlanc, Tuttle, Wooley, Paul Knight…the list goes on, yet they are the ones who taught us the game and kept us accountable to the Michigan Rugby tradition.
Memories: Sleeping in an old slaughterhouse and running out of money on the Nassau tour (thank God Tim Parros won at the casino and helped us get through the tour); Kevin Zimmer stating “I’ll take an ugly loss over a pretty win anytime”; Eating a half-cooked pig off the spit at a Luau because it was put on the fire too late and we were starving; Bob Linton holding a Big Things Party and Nick Sartor and I bringing the Big Order of 200 White Castles (the house was littered with those little boxes at the end of the party); Tearing up my ankle and then holding the after match party at my house with frozen vegetables tapped to my ankle.
What have you done since Michigan Rugby?
Better to ask what I haven’t done. I was a ski bum, a personal trainer, a professional photographer, various sales positions and finally financial services. I have owned my own firm now for the last 9 years, working with family businesses, especially automotive collision shops, and helping them align their business and family for generational wealth.
How has Michigan Rugby affected you outside of the athletic realm?
The rugby fraternity is pretty incredible. It always amazes me how a bond is immediately created when you meet someone who also played the game. It really doesn’t matter at what level you played; the fact that you played immediately makes a connection. Yet, there is something particularly special about Michigan Rugby that I can’t put my finger on. We played hard and partied hard, yet most everyone kept the utmost integrity. None of us were perfect, yet you knew you could always count on your mates. I feel blessed to have played when I did because, being a mixed side, we got to learn and play with men who had years of experience, both on and off the pitch. These lessons in pride, tradition and integrity, learned both on and off the pitch, are ones I have carried with me throughout my life – with my family, my community and my business.
Congratulations again to Matt!
