HELENA, Mont. – Homecoming 2026 has arrived in Helena, and the Hilltop is abuzz with plenty of festivities planned all week long.
 
Aside from the trio of athletic contests taking place at Carroll this week, the marquee event of the weekend will take place Saturday morning. The Carroll Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony will see seven individuals enshrined for their outstanding on-field accomplishments throughout their storied careers.
 
The annual Hall of Fame banquet is a perfect chance to recognize former Fighting Saints for their athletic achievements, as well as a chance for the institution to extend gratitude to those behind the scenes, whose continued support helps provide the opportunities for student-athletes to shine.
 
Carroll Athletic Director Charlie Gross has announced this year's recipients of the Warren L. Nelson Award, Tom & Wendy Downey, who will be formally recognized on Saturday at the 2026 Carroll Athletics Hall of Fame breakfast.
 
The Warren L. Nelson Award is the highest honor bestowed by the Carroll College Athletic Department. The award was established in 1986 to honor Mr. Nelson for his support of Carroll Athletics. The award is intended to recognize individuals who have exemplified the unselfish goodness of Warren Nelson in assisting, promoting, and otherwise supporting Carroll Athletics. Nelson was a Reno, Nevada businessman and longtime Carroll booster. He attended Mount St. Charles High School and college, playing for the 1931 Saints football team that won the Montana Collegiate Championship.
 
Tom Downey, a 1975 Carroll graduate, grew up 68 miles to the South in Butte, prepping at Butte Central HS. There, the '26 Nelson Award honoree had the opportunity to play football for a familiar name on the Hilltop, Bob Petrino Sr. Following his time as a Maroon, Downey spent one additional year in his hometown, attending Montana Tech. While there, one football game changed the course of his life.
 
"I went to Tech as a student and I was kind of lost – not doing good." Said Downey "That Fall, I watched Carroll play Tech in Butte, and I was just so impressed with how well the Saints played. As I was sitting there watching, right then and there in the stands that night, I decided that I'm going to go to Carroll and play football. The next day I called over, checked to see if there was any chance that I could still get on a scholarship."
 
There was indeed room for Downey on the team, but it would be some time before the Butte native would see the field.
 
"…I came up here at winter break and worked out all winter with the team. Then, because of the Frontier Conference transfer rules, I was ineligible for the next season. So, I was the team manager, and I got a little scholarship. Then, we come to winter ball again in January. I did that all winter, played spring ball, and then I finally got to play the next year. I'd had two full winters, and two spring balls under my belt… plus a whole semester as a janitor by the time I finally got to play."
 
When Bob Petrino was hired in 1971, the Carroll Football team had not won a Frontier Conference Championship in 11 years – the school's longest stretch without a title since joining the league in 1935. Things changed in a hurry, however, as the legendary coach sparked new life into the program, with success following soon after.
 
The 1973 Carroll Football team compiled an undefeated regular season record of 7-0, securing their second-straight Frontier Conference title while finishing No. 8 in the NAIA Division II National Poll. One of the best teams in program history, however, was left on the outside looking in – not selected to compete in the NAIA Playoffs.
 
Downey was a Defensive End on the '73 squad and recalls the disappointing end to a historic season.
 
"We got done with that final game, we weren't going to turn-in our equipment thinking, 'yeah, we're going to get a playoff game, we have to get a playoff game. Then… We don't get a playoff game. That's it, that was the end of the year."
 
Downey played one more season on the Hilltop, and began an internship, working part-time for Montana International Insurance company throughout the season.
 
"I took a risk management class here at Carroll and got offered an internship. I went from a student on the day I graduated to working full-time the very next day."
 
Working in both Helena, and his hometown of Butte, Downey enjoyed a very successful 48-year career starting with Montana International, before retiring with PayneWest. Throughout his professional career, Downey drifted from the institution a bit, raising children, and continuing to climb the corporate ladder, until his youngest daughter made the decision to follow in his footsteps and come to Carroll.
 
"I never lost my loyalty, but I wasn't as active with Carroll Athletics through all that period. I was busy working and raising kids and stuff. But then once Beth came here, from that point forward, it was just like, I'm all in."
 
Re-engaged with his alma mater, Downey would eventually be presented with an opportunity he couldn't turn down. In 2018, he was appointed to the Carroll College Board of Trustees.
 
"I'd always thought about it as I went through my life and career. You look at opportunities, and the Board of Trustees was kind of one of those things that you put out there and say that'd be kind of cool. So, when I was finally approached for that, I said, I'm all in."
 
In 2020, Downey and the Board made the momentous decision to formally move forward with the Nelson Stadium Enhancement Project – a transformational effort that would be the single largest investment into the stadium in its 20-year history, adding a state-of-the-art lighting system and an artificial turf playing surface.
 
With the commitment made, the Board needed a point man for the project. Someone who could step in, take control, and lead the fundraising effort for the multi-million-dollar renovation.
 
Whether he liked it or not, the Board knew right away who their guy was – Tom Downey.
 
"People would look at me and say - you're our guy, you're on the Board, you're a former football player. You're a supporter, so you are our guy. You can get it done."
 
"So, I go to Gene Mallette and I say - you're the guy. Gene responded, 'No, no, you're the guy.' I went to the Racicot's - You're the guy. Marc responded, 'No, no, you're the guy."
 
As it turns out, Downey was in fact just the right guy for the job.
 
He recruited 2025 Nelson Award recipient Dr. John Michelotti, another former football player, and the pair would co-chair the fundraising effort for the enhancement project.
 
The addition of artificial turf to one of the most iconic venues in the entire NAIA had long been rumored in Helena. Convincing donors to spend on a project they had heard about for years and years, with nothing tangible to see, proved less than fruitful.
 
"Doc and I started trying to begin conversations with donors, and everybody kept telling us that you guys have promised this for 10 years. You've never done it. We don't think you're going to do it."
 
"We worked off that idea for about a year-and-a-half and everybody on the board was looking at me asking, how's your project coming? I said, what project? People don't trust it. We have to put a shovel in the ground and get going."
 
The spring of 2023 was a particularly devastating one for Nelson Stadium's natural grass surface. By the time spring ball had culminated, little grass was left to be found. Carroll's 113^th commencement ceremony was held outdoors in the stadium, basically sitting on a barren patch of dirt. Something needed to change.
 
Downey, along with Michelotti, pleaded their case to the Board that the institution needed to re-think their fundraising model. Initial plans were to seek donations on the front end and begin construction once the fundraising goal was met.
 
Downey proposed a different model. With skepticism surrounding the long-proposed project looming, the College needed to show people this was real. The fundraising efforts needed to take place concurrent with construction. Donors needed to see action to get on board. Carroll desperately needed to get shovels in the ground.
 
"I thought we'd get maybe 65 percent of the board… It was 100 percent unanimous support."
 
All in.
 
With a new plan in place, and complete support from institutional brass, the Nelson Stadium Enhancement Project was officially announced in the Fall of 2023 – with plans to break ground the very next spring.
 
Donations began to roll in, support for the project was high, and there was an air of excitement around the first true renovation to the facility since construction was completed in 2001. With a fundraising goal of four-million dollars, and a shiny new blank canvas to work with, sponsorship opportunities would prove to be key in getting the project across the finish line.
 
Downey was instrumental in helping land a title sponsor for the field itself. Following months-long negotiations, Downey and crew landed the most important piece of the fundraising effort. At a groundbreaking ceremony in spring of 2024, Valley Bank was announced as the official field sponsor, with the new surface now referred to as Valley Bank Field at Nelson Stadium.
 
Alongside the official field naming rights, there were additional opportunities in each corner of the turf. Again, Downey played a key role in securing the major gifts.
 
From a floundering idea to a fully functional space that nearly three-quarters of Carroll student-athletes utilize year-round from dawn 'til dusk, the Nelson Stadium Enhancement Project has completely changed the day-to-day operations within the Athletic Department.
 
"I feel the project has been very, very successful, but it all boiled down strategically to how you take this upside-down idea, and make it work."
 
The addition of turf and lighting has been nothing short of transformational for Carroll student-athletes. The dedication, strong will, and action-forward approach by Tom Downey has provided new opportunities for multiple sports, assisted Carroll coaches with recruiting efforts, and provided the institution with a facility that is now on-par with the top-notch experience seen campus-wide.
 
Aiding in the transformation felt second-nature to Downey, who reflected very fondly on what the institution did for him.
 
"Being at Carroll and being associated with Carroll - the people I've known, and how blessed I've been, it's changed my life."
 
Leading by example, Tom and his wife Wendy have made truly significant financial contributions to the Stadium Enhancement Project, as well as an exciting addition to be announced in the future.
 
"I was a drifting student at Montana Tech, with nothing on the horizon. I almost quit college. I was working at the (Berkley) Pit to make 175 bucks a week rather than paying tuition. To think what I've had since then - this place just changes the trajectory of your life."
 
On Saturday morning in the Lower CUBE, the Downey's will be presented with the 2026 Warren L. Nelson Award. A fitting honor for going All In on enhancing the beloved stadium that bears Nelson's name.