Dedication and love for the game. 

These are words used to describe Xavier football superfan, Dan Sullivan. Sullivan has been at every Xavier football game, 252 to be exact. Sullivan’s love for the Saints stems from many aspects of the game.

“My wife, Kay, had a cousin who lived in Iowa City that had attended over 700 Iowa football games. I always thought that was a neat record and I guess I’ve tried to emulate that on a smaller scale,” Sullivan said. “I’ve also always been a lover of consistency and tradition. With pretty much the same set of coaches and volunteers for 23 years, the Xavier football program is a model of consistency.”

Attending Catholic schools growing up, and graduating from LaSalle High School in 1967, Sullivan enjoys giving back to what made him into the person he is today through his children.

“When our kids attended Regis High School, they had a program called ‘Fair Share’, where parents were allowed to pay whatever they could afford to cover tuition costs. We were not making much money at that time, so we were unable to contribute the actual tuition cost,” Sullivan said. “We were grateful to the school for allowing us to get Catholic education for our children at a reduced cost. To help make up for that, we’ve tried to contribute as much funds and time to Xavier as we can.”

Sullivan attended many LaSalle football games, including when the Schulte boys, Jack, Duane, Kary and Darrel, went through LaSalle, and led the team to two state championships in 1981 and 1982. In 1982, Darrel was the quarterback, (now a XHS Sophomore Football Assistant Coach).

“I had a brother-in-law who was in the service overseas. This was around the time when VCRs were a popular new device for making home recordings. My brother-in-law purchased a VCR for me to record tv shows and then send to him to view,” Sullivan said. “I set the VCR to tape the LaSalle championship game while I was at the UNI Dome watching. Years later, Connie, (now a XHS football ball girl) the niece of my wife, announced that she was marrying a young man that she had met at college.  That man turned out to be Darrel Schulte. I was excited to see a Schulte coming into the family, and after I met Darrel, we watched my tape of his championship game.” 

Darrel also spoke about the VCR tapes.

“My favorite memory of Dan dates back to when I was dating my wife, Connie. She [Connie] went to visit her aunt and uncle back in 1986. Kay asked Connie if she was dating anyone. Connie said yes, a guy that graduated from LaSalle named Darrel Schulte. Dan was excited and pulled out a VHS tape and threw it in the VCR. I have to say that may have helped me get Connie to keep dating me. I owe Dan that,” Darrel said.

Darrel had nothing but good things to say about Sullivan’s character. 

“It does not surprise me that Dan has been at every game. He has been a great supporter of LaSalle, Regis and Xavier sports, especially football since he graduated high school at LaSalle in the 60s,” Darrel said. “Dan is a very humble person. I’m sure he was appreciative of his recognition of being at every Xavier football game. But he does not seek attention. He is a grinder and a hard working guy.”

Head Coach Duane Schulte appreciates Sullivan’s presence at every game.

“Dan is a tremendous person. He is God centered, cares deeply about his family and loves Catholic education, especially Xavier and formerly LaSalle and Regis football,” Duane said. “For him to be at every Xavier football game shows his tremendous commitment to our program. I think he even missed part of his daughter’s wedding rehearsal dinner to attend a game. He has been a good luck charm for all of these contests. We are honored to have him with us.”

Sullivan is grateful the Saints were able to have a season this year, despite the pandemic. 

“I don’t think most people expected this year’s team to go 10-1 and make the state semifinals. I don’t believe they had all the size, experience or talent displayed in years past. They did have a lot of grit, worked hard and represented the school well, which set them apart from the previous teams I’ve watched,” Sullivan said. 

Sullivan is looking forward to continuing to support the Saints and add onto his consecutive game attendance next season.