August 2008

Question:

Dear Abbot Pennings,

I’m curious to know how long the Green Bay Packers have been using St. Norbert College for training camp.

Ragan Prucha Jorgensen ’97

Answer:

Thank you for your question, Ragan. This long-standing tradition at St. Norbert College began in the summer of 1958. The team set up living quarters in Sensenbrenner Hall and held training sessions in campus classrooms. At that time, the Packers dined in Burke Hall. The tradition became even more solidified when head coach Vince Lombardi befriended Fr. Dennis Burke in 1959.

Through the years, the team has been housed in many different facilities on campus. Today, they reside in Victor McCormick Hall, or VMC, as many of our students refer to it.
 
We are glad to welcome the team to our campus every year during the summer months and I’m so pleased that the college’s relationship with the Packers has lasted 51 years and is still going strong. In fact, this link with our local team is the longest such connection in the NFL.

Responses to “Ask the Abbot” questions are penned by St. Norbert College staff in the name of Abbot Bernard Pennings, O.Praem., who founded St. Norbert College in 1898.