Congratulating John Gagliardi, football coach of St. John's University, on the occasion of his becoming the all-time winningest coach in collegiate football history.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I rise today to honor St. John's University's Coach John Gagliardi for becoming the winningest college football coach ever. After beating archrival St. Thomas to tie Eddie Robinson's record of 408 wins at Grambling, Coach Gagliardi's Johnnies set a new record by defeating nationally ranked Bethel in a hard-fought game before over 13,000 fans in the natural bowl of Clemens Stadium. That is quite a crowd, since the stadium only seats 5,500.

As a graduate of St. John's, I was honored to be able to join John at the White House today where the President rightly praised both his achievement and his character. Both St. John's University and Coach John Gagliardi are quite special; and as one might expect from a relationship stretching over half a century, they are special for many of the same reasons. Indeed, the similarities begin with both the university and the coach being named ultimately after St. John.

St. John's, with 1,900 male students, is one of the oldest universities in the State of Minnesota, having been founded by Benedictine monks in 1856. It sits on a beautiful campus of 2,400 acres

with four lakes on campus. Their sister school, St. Benedict's, with 2,000 students, was founded by Benedictine nuns in 1913.

The Benedictines live according to the Rule of St. Benedict with an emphasis on faithfulness, community, study, work, prayer, and humility. They have infused these values into the culture of St. John's and St. Ben's as well. Community is important to Johnnie and Bennie alumni, who are among the most loyal anywhere.

Coach Gagliardi has personified these values. After coaching 4 years at Carroll College in Helena, Montana, John has coached at St. John's for the last 51 seasons. That record of faithfulness has been matched with 47 years of marriage to the partner of his life, his wife, Peggy.

The Gagliardi family has been intertwined with the St. John's community. They live on campus, and all four of their children have attended St. John's or St. Ben's. I attended St. John's with their son John, Jr. Their son Jim is one of St. John's assistant coaches and joined him today at the White House. Since he is assistant coach there at St. John's, the President said that he appreciated sons following in their father's footsteps.

Consistent with John's commitment to community, he cuts no one from games, from coming out for football, and over 150 players regularly suit up for home games. In fact, St. John's was recently penalized for having two players with the same number on the field, a penalty few teams ever have to worry about. And while Gagliardi is acclaimed for his perennial success on the football field, he is equally loved and admired at St. John's for his commitment to making sure that his players get a quality education.

Consistent with his commitment to study, I am proud to say that no player has ever failed to graduate in John's over a half century of coaching. Every class of graduating football players includes those who go on to graduate, law, or medical school. St. John's and St. Ben's, which are ranked as among the best Catholic national liberal arts colleges in the country by ``U.S. News and World Report,'' match Gagliardi's commitment to educational excellence. The Benedictine monks have long stressed work and in their early days were almost entirely self-sufficient, growing and building most of what they needed. Coach Gagliardi's personal work ethic is reflected in his intent to continue coaching even after he has achieved this important milestone.

Yet John has a nontraditional view towards work in the form of practice. His practices involve no blocking sleds, no dummies, no whistles, no pads, no tackling, and no mandatory weight training. John does not conduct spring practices, and he gives his team the day off if it is too cold, too hot, or there are too many mosquitos, as is often the case in Minnesota.

But where Gagliardi asks his players to work is on game day. They work and they win. In over 55 years of coaching, he has now had 410 wins and only 114 losses. My son Peter recently commented that it is impossible to be a fair-weather fan of St. John's because they always win. Gagliardi's teams have won 26 conference titles, appeared in 45 post-season games, and won three national championships. Their most recent national championship was in 1976, while I was a student at St. John's, when they beat Towson State of Maryland, a school 10 times its size.

Playing bigger schools is not unusual for St. John's with its 1,900 students. I fondly remember sitting at a playoff game with St. John's president, Brother Dietrich Reinhart, in Dayton, Ohio, against the University of Dayton. They were playing St. John's in football, but Michigan State in basketball that evening.

According to St. John's folklore, prayer is vitally important to their football success. The St. John's abbey is the largest Benedictine abbey in the world. As the saying goes, if the team gets it close, they will pray it in.

Despite John's unmatched record of success, he remains amongst the most humble people one will ever meet. His news director, Michael Hemisch, has a hard time getting him to speak to the press. John avoids the limelight and wears a coat during games that everyone is happy to see has now been contributed to the College Football Hall of Fame, so he will not wear it anymore. But he said it is the only coat that will keep him warm enough for Minnesota falls.

Some were surprised that he accepted President Bush's invitation to come to the White House today. When the press asked him what was the secret of his success, he answered: talented players, luck, and prayers.

Certainly, the many players that have played for Coach Gagliardi should be congratulated on this achievement. John took no credit for himself but would be happy to ascribe some of the credit to his current coaching staff and his coaching staff over the years, three of whom joined him: his son Jim, Jerry Haugen, and Gary Fasching. He would also give credit to the monks, including athletic director Father Tim Backous, who joined him as well at the White House. Father Tim and I sang together at men's chorus at St. John's. And John likes to joke that the monks said they would always be with him, win or tie.

Though John is humble, my fellow alumni at St. John's and St. Ben's, including 13 of my family members, have great pride not just in his success as the winningest college football coach ever but the way his life has modeled the Benedictine values of faithfulness, community, study, work, prayer, and humility.

I appreciated the Johnnies who joined John at the White House and the many that came out to the reception this afternoon here in Washington to honor John, including Senator Dave Durenberger; Al Eisele, editor of ``The Hill,'' David Rehr from the Beer Wholesalers; and Tom Super, whose wife, Kathy, works for President Bush, Sr.

I encourage my fellow Members to join me in honoring his achievement.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 438) congratulating John Gagliardi, football coach of St. John's University, on the occasion of his becoming the all-time winningest coach in collegiate football history.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Res. 438.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 438. I would like to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kennedy), for bringing this resolution forward. Mr. Speaker, this resolution recognizes the achievement of Coach John Gagliardi of St. John's University for becoming the all-time winningest coach in collegiate football history.

Coach Gagliardi--John to his players, colleagues and friends--has long been a force in college athletics and in life. In his 51 years at St. Johns, John has found great success on the field, leading St. John's to 23 conference titles and the winningest record in Division III history.

His performance as a coach is impressive, but it tells only one side of the story of this great man. John has invested in thousands of lives over his career in the coaching business. The success earned by the St. John's team reflects the dedication he inspires in each player. John's investment in these young lives is, to him, the most important contribution he can make, and to them the most important reward they will receive.

I extend my congratulations to Coach John Gagliardi on this important day for him and for the St. John's community. I am happy to join my colleagues in honoring a great man and wishing him continued success.

I ask my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 10 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kennedy).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I thank the gentlewoman for her very kind remarks on this occasion, and I thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kennedy) for bringing this forward. I encourage all of my colleagues to vote for this, with a hearty congratulations to Coach John Gagliardi.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 438. This resolution honors John Gagliardi, the football coach at St. Johns University. Coach Gagliardi is the winningest coach in college football history. This month he overtook the legendary Eddie Robinson by winning the 409th football game of his career. This record puts Coach Gagliardi at the very top of his profession. It should come as no surprise that the students, the student athletes, the faculty and fans of St. John's University greatly admire Coach Gagliardi. Fortunately, we are not only honoring Coach Gagliardi for his winning ways but also his commitment to his school, his team and, most importantly, his players and their education.

Coach Gagliardi has coached over 5,000 players during his 50 years at St. John's. Over that time, none of his players have failed to graduate and most have graduated within 4 years.

This is an amazing feat in today's world of college athletes. Coach Gagliardi more than deserves the honor we are bestowing on him today. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members of the House to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.