St. Norbert College president makes wager with Saint Vincent college president over Super Bowl

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From St. Norbert College, January 26, 2011
by Mike Counter, mike.counter@snc.edu, (920) 403-3089

St. Norbert College president Thomas Kunkel has placed a friendly wager with Saint Vincent College president Brother Norman Hipps, O.S.B. over Super Bowl XLV pitting the Green Bay Packers against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Feb. 6, in Dallas.

Both colleges' student government association presidents have piggybacked on the bet as well, pitting St. Norbert College SGA president Zach Parmeter against Saint Vincent's SGA President Renold Sossong.

The Packers have held their summer training camp at St. Norbert College for 53 years, the longest such relationship between a pro football team and a college in the NFL.

Saint Vincent College, located in Latrobe, Pa., is the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers summer camp. The Steelers have had their summer home on the Saint Vincent campus for 45 years, the second-longest such relationship.

Kunkel, who was recently elected to the Packers board of directors, made the wager with confidence. "St. Norbert College has been a proud partner with the Green Bay Packers dating back to the Lombardi years," says Kunkel. "They (Saint Vincent) may have the name, but we had the man himself (Lombardi) on our campus for nine years. In fact, we just published a book about the relationship between Lombardi, the Packers and St. Norbert College. I have no doubt the Lombardi trophy will be coming home to its birthplace, Green Bay."
If the Packers lose, Kunkel will send Saint Vincent's president some of Wisconsin's finest cheese and sausage. He'll also throw in a copy of the new book just published by St. Norbert Press, "A Championship Team: The Packers and St. Norbert College in the Lombardi Years."

If the Packers win, Kunkel will receive a bag of flour and loaf of bread from Saint Vincent College's historic grist mill, where they make their own bread on campus. Also, Brother Hipps will add some of the campus coffeehouse's special "black and gold blend" to the wager and a copy of Jim O'Brien's book about the Steelers, which contains many stories about the players' experiences on campus.

St. Norbert College provides meals, housing, and transportation to the Packers throughout their training camp; on-field activities occur at the Packers' own training facilities. For more, go to www.packerstrainingcamp.com/.

For more on the connections between the Packers and St. Norbert College go to http://www.snc.edu/communications/specialreports/packerconnection.html.