UT History Series: Men's Soccer Captures Tampa's First National Championship

By Joey Johnston

At the University of Tampa, national championships have become the expectation. Heading into the 2020-21 academic year, the Spartans have claimed 18 total national titles (in six different sports).

But one team will always be the first to make that big-time breakthrough. One team will always be the true history-maker, the one to unlock all the possibilities. Thirty-nine years later, it's still the group with unmatched chemistry, togetherness and a never-ending brotherhood.

It's the unbeaten 1981 UT men's soccer team, the proud NCAA Division II national champions.

When the Spartans (15-0-3) vanquished Cal State-Los Angeles 1-0 on Peter Johansson's 30-yard free-kick blast two minutes into overtime, UT players spilled onto the frozen field at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. Spartans fourth-year coach Jay Miller dropped to his knees, initially feeling more relief than jubilation. At the other end, UT goalkeeper Tom Graham also slipped to the turf, weeping, full of exhilaration and redemption after weathering an injury-plagued career.

"We had all come a long way,'' Graham said. "Man, had we come a long way.''

Miller arrived in 1978, when UT's athletic program was struggling for survival. Local fans were still bitter about the elimination of UT's beloved football team about four years earlier. Red ink was the rule. Scholarships and funding were at a low ebb.

Miller promptly proclaimed that his program would win a national title within five years. On its face, that seemed laughable. But Miller began turning it around incrementally and the talent level began to jump.

It was a program of character — and characters. Captain Mark Putnam, a defender, provided a formidable on-field engine. Midfielder Mike Fall seemingly ran forever. There was rugged, old-school toughness up front with Steve Savage and Roger Ramsay (who was discovered while playing for the Florida Suncoast Soccer League's Unclaimed Freight team).

Miller, largely dedicated to American player development, capped the process by working his European connections. Three standouts from Sweden were added, including Johansson (a junior national team and first-division player who chose UT over an offer from the North American Soccer League's San Diego Sockers), sweeper Hans Olofsson and forward Goran Swardh.

Some players showed up unexpectedly. Graham, from the Washington, D.C., area, was on his way to Tampa for an official recruiting visit with the University of South Florida. He had also gotten correspondence from UT and was intrigued with the letterhead's iconic minaret logo. He asked the cab driver to stop first at UT. After being dropped off at Plant Hall, he toured the campus and talked to no one. But he fell in love with the place. He vowed to attend UT. He went home without ever visiting USF.

Graham later became one of five 1981 team members to be inducted into UT's Athletic Hall of Fame (Fulk, Johansson, Smith and Fall also were honored, along with the entire 1981 team). He's a member of UT's Board of Trustees and once gave the school's commencement address.

"It's hard to fathom how much your life can change because of one decision,'' Graham said. "Who knows how we all got together on that team? But we did and fit with each other very well.''

The defensive-minded Spartans allowed just 14 goals in 18 games. The only blemishes — minor ones — were the three ties against Seattle-Pacific (1-1), Florida International University (2-2) and the USF (2-2) in the annual Mayor's Cup game.

In the NCAA Tournament, the Spartans downed Rollins 1-0 to capture the South Regional. They defeated Missouri-St. Louis 2-0 in the NCAA semifinals before facing Cal State-L.A. in the spine-tingling final.

The drama carried into overtime when UT earned an early free kick. As another player moved toward the ball, Johansson spoke up — forcefully.

"Peter said, 'Get away … don't touch that ball … that's mine!' '' Miller said with a laugh. "He struck it and he struck it hard. It was kind of a knuckleball and it had kind of a dip before it hit in front of the goalkeeper.''

Johansson's shot cleared the defensive wall and tailed toward the left post, away from onrushing goalkeeper Laurence Draluck, who got his fingernails on the ball, but to no avail.

It was over.

"It was a great moment and I'm not sure a lot of people on the outside would've imagined it when we first started putting the team together,'' Johansson said. "The (playing) level was not that high at the beginning, but it steadily got better. The biggest thing was the chemistry. We all fit together somehow. Some of the guys were not considered great players, but they were certainly great teammates and everyone filled a role. That was a team that truly played together.''

The players credited Miller and assistant coach Tom Fitzgerald.

"Coach Miller was just a legend and he made everyone better because he knew how to push the right buttons,'' said former UT assistant and current IMG coach Keith Fulk, who played a role with three national-title teams — 1981 (as a player, although injured), 1994 (assistant coach) and 2001 (head coach).

"The personalities on our team were incredible. We had guys with long hair, laid-back outlooks, but they were killers on the field. Jay molded us all together. Even now, they're still the best friends I've had in life.''

Fulk beat cancer. His wife, Mara, has fought cancer. Their spirits were kept afloat by constant contact from UT soccer alumni.

"These things make me proud to be a Spartan,'' Fulk said. "We built a bond that has lasted forever. Coach Miller always said, 'You've got to remember those (national championship) years.' He's right. You think you can do it the next year and it doesn't happen. You have to cherish everything about a year like 1981.

"Boil it down and it's not about the X's and O's. It's about the relationships. Coach Miller was magic and spot-on. He knew how to let us be ourselves and come together. But the personalities on that team drove everything.''

Without embellishment, Miller said the 1981 soccer success became a catalyst for UT's growth.

"Within an 18-month span, our athletic department had three national championships,'' Miller said. "When we dedicated the new Pepin/Rood Stadium for the Mayor's Cup game (in 1982), the place seated about 3,300, but we had more than 6,000 fans there with temporary grandstands on the other side. Pretty soon, UT was opening the Martinez Sports Center (for basketball and volleyball).

"Sports are not everything, but I do think they are important to a school. We were the first (to win a UT national title). I think we opened a door and I think it helped put the university on its front foot. Great things began to happen and that has continued through to today. The growth of UT athletics — and the school as a whole — is simply amazing.''

Johansson has experienced most of it first-hand. After a brief professional career, mostly with the Tampa Bay Rowdies, he has remained in Tampa while building a business.

"It's unreal that it all happened nearly 40 years ago … where has the time gone?'' Johansson said. "I still get reminders. Sometimes I'll go to places and give them my credit card and they will say, 'I remember you.'

"I think we started something special. We planted a seed. A lot of things happened that were very deep and we still can feel them today.'' 

Joey Johnston has worked in the Tampa Bay sports media for more than three decades, winning multiple national awards while covering events such as the Super Bowl, World Series, Final Four, Wimbledon, the U. S. Open, the Stanley Cup Finals and all the major bowl games. But his favorite stories have always been about Tampa Bay Area teams and athletes. A third-generation Tampa native, he was a regular in the Tampa Stadium stands at University of Tampa football games.