Courtesy Grand Forks Herald

(July 14, 2008) Each morning, you’ll hear oldies and sports talk on Great 98, a radio station near Fond du Lac, Wis. They love talking about Wisconsin Badger sports there, especially football, basketball and hockey. Not surprisingly, when the UND men’s hockey team ended Wisconsin’s season with a trip to the NCAA Frozen Four on the line this spring, the host of Great 98’s morning show wasn’t bothered by it.

That’s because the host is former Sioux quarterback, kicker and punter Tom Biolo.

Biolo, who earned all-North Central Conference honors while playing for UND from 1977 through 1980, now lives in Fond du Lac and is one of three partners who operate four radio stations in the area.

“We do it all here,” Biolo said. “I do an on-air shift in the morning on one of the stations. We also do sales, the dishes, the garbage — pretty much everything.

“I always thought I wanted to be a sportscaster on TV. One of my professors at UND taught me about some other opportunities within the communications field. That’s when I got into the sales, marketing and management end.”

Back home

Wisconsin is native land for Biolo. He was born and raised in Green Bay and graduated from Green Bay Southwest High School.

He starred there as a kicker and a quarterback. Minnesota and Wisconsin recruited him as a kicker, but he decided on UND when Sioux coaches told Biolo that they would give him a shot at playing some quarterback, too.

He handled kicking duties immediately.

“We had freshman teams back then, kind of like the junior varsity team,” Biolo said. “They let me play quarterback on the freshman team. Then, when I was a sophomore, I was backing up Mark Hustad. He was unbelievably talented but ran into some discipline problems and all they had left was me.”

Handling both kicking and quarterback duties came naturally to Biolo. He had participated in punt, pass and kick contests since he was young.

The best season for the Sioux with Biolo in the fold was 1979. They started 9-0, made the playoffs and finished 10-2.

“The memories that stick are the guys you meet, the flights you have together and the bus rides,” Biolo said. “I still remain friends with many of those guys and I still communicate with them. That’s what sticks in your mind. Not the individual awards. I really don’t care about them.”

After graduating in 1981, Biolo pursued a career in communications. He landed a job in Polson, Mont., and stayed there for four years. While there, he married his wife, Lynn. They had their 24th anniversary Sunday.

When Lynn became pregnant with their first of three children, the Biolos moved to Fond du Lac and have been there since.
The Biolo family includes sons Bobby (22), Paul (19) and Brian (17).

Enjoying sports

Biolo said he closely follows UND football and hockey and rarely misses Sioux-Badger weekend in Madison.

“Those are always great games to go to,” he said.

In his spare time, he enjoys fishing, hunting and going to concerts. He’ll watch bands ranging from Boston to Dave Matthews Band.

“I love it here in this area,” he said. “I was born and raised here, and I’ve always liked the state.”