Tommy Ramos ('98) was never an exceptional soccer goalkeeper: in fact, if I’m honest, he was just okay.  He tried hard and he bought into everything that we were doing at the time, but he was not blessed with a great deal of natural, physical gifts or ability.  He was a backup to the backup, and he would never have been considered for the Cushing or Boutin Awards.  In fairness, those honors are reserved for, among other things, exceptional athletic performance.

He was an exceptional teammate and student-athlete at UMass Lowell.  He was exceptional because he knew everyone: faculty, staff, student-athletes on other teams and members of the campus community.  Everyone.  While he was a student, he was proud to be a River Hawk, and he had more school spirit than anyone I have ever met in my decade at UMass Lowell.

Tom was a member of my first-ever team at UMass Lowell, a team that made the first steps of our program’s gradual climb with an undistinguished 7-12 record, and a team that remains very special to me.   At the end of the season, Tom spent a great deal of time with the countless recruits that we brought through the doors of Costello Gymnasium.  The recruits often stayed in his room, and always met his friends.  He went above and beyond to make sure each of these prospective team members saw the very best that UMass Lowell had to offer, both on and off the soccer field.  He was our greatest ambassador, advocate and salesperson, and he was responsible for convincing many of those young men to attend this great university…and then, he graduated.

Many of our graduates don’t quite know what to do after graduation: they get caught in the transition from student-athlete to career person, and they don’t always realize that their relationship with UMass Lowell should not last a mere four years; rather it should grow and thrive over the next forty.  Tommy led the way by instantly becoming the type of alumnus that we all should be: he gave back in whatever way he could.

If he had time, he gave back: spending time with our recruits and returning to campus (sometimes even flying back) to play in our alumni game.  He was the king of road trips, most notably driving three hours from Baltimore to Philadelphia to watch us play (and win) on a hot August day in Westchester.  He called me when Field Hockey and Nicole Plante won their National Championships to say how proud he was of them.  He called me when Ice Hockey was “on thin ice”: many of his best friends at UMass Lowell played ice hockey here at Lowell, and their program meant a lot to him.

If he had money, he gave back: most recently, for this year’s NCAA tournament; our players’ hands were a lot warmer playing in the field gloves that he anonymously bought for them.  In past years, he had paid for our team banquet out of his own pocket…

…but most of all, he gave us his friendship.  He loved UMass Lowell Soccer, and we loved him back.

Tommy died Friday morning, May 2, 2008 near his new home of Baltimore of a severe respiratory condition brought on by severe pneumonia.  He was a shining example of what UMass Lowell student athletes should be in the campus community throughout their four years and beyond: although he was never our greatest player, he was…in a word, EXCEPTIONAL.

I challenge our current student-athletes to live out Tommy Ramos’ legacy:

• Enjoy your four years: you can work hard and have fun, too.
• Become an active member of the campus community: think outside the box- stuff gets old, so innovate!
• Get to know other coaches, staff and faculty- it is a skill to be able to talk with people outside of your comfort zone- learn to do it.
• Don’t let your association with UMass Lowell end with graduation: rather, look at graduation as an opportunity to turn a page in a very long book, and write a new chapter of lifelong belonging.  Come back for alumni events; create a new athletic alumni culture…
• Give back to your program.  If you have nothing else to give, give of your time, passion and support.  Become the alum that you wish you had when you were playing.  Let’s create a relationship that shoots for forty years and beyond…
• Support all of our teams, because there really is a lot to like about Lowell.  I know most of the student-athletes on campus, and you know what, they’re all pretty remarkable people.  We are all in this together, so let’s start showing it today, and as alumni.

Tommy Ramos symbolized so much of what UMass Lowell Athletics should be all about.  You are the present and future UMass Lowell Athletics, and what are you doing about it?  What relationships, what legacy are you creating?  UMass Lowell is an exciting place with an exciting future, so let’s all take this lead and move forward together.  We have an opportunity to rally around each other and create the type of school spirit that we all so desperately crave, and a spirit that lives on in all of us long after we are gone.  And always remember…

...We are UMass Lowell!