Saint Xavier University's NAIA National Championship football team was an honoree in the South Side Irish Parade, which took place on Sun., March 11. Head Football Coach Mike Feminis and the team were on the SXU float, which was fifth in line as the parade stepped off at 103^rd St. and Western Ave. Families, students, alumni, staff, faculty, and friends also walked alongside the SXU float.

“Coach Feminis and the football team truly enjoyed being an honoree of the South Side Irish Parade. We are so incredibly proud of our football team's historic 2011 NAIA National Championship, so we were thrilled that the parade committee would bestow such an honor to our team,” said Robert Tenczar, Vice President for University Relations. “This was a great way to celebrate the team’s historic accomplishment with the community while also celebrating Irish American Month.”

The football team captured the 2011 NAIA National Championship with its 24-20 victory over six-time national champion Carroll College of Montana. This is the first time since 1913 that a Chicago school has won a national football championship, and the first time in the 41-year history of Saint Xavier University Athletics that any team has won a national championship. Additionally, this is also the first time a college football team from the state of Illinois has won a national championship since Augustana College won its last one of four straight national titles in 1986.