Elk Mound grad Dane Lew completes successful career on gridiron for UMD

PROTECTED CONTENT

If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.

Username

Password

Login

Lost your password?

Username and Password Help

Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.

Email

Submit

← Back

DULUTH — It was an interesting five years to say the least for former Elk Mound three-sport standout Dane Lew as a member of the University of Minnesota Duluth football team.

With players allowed an extra year of eligibility due to not having a 2020 season with COVID-19 looming over the entire area, Lew played his final game this past fall for the Bulldogs, a Division 2 school in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, (NSIC).

After being recruited by several colleges his senior year of high school, Lew visited most of the schools in the NSIC along with a couple of Division 1 schools in the Dakotas but was impressed with Duluth’s Science and Engineering program. And the distance from home and family was about where he wanted to be. He was also familiar with the area since his grandparents used to take him and his brothers there on vacations.

According to UMD head coach Curt Weise, Lew came to UMD five years ago as a safety that ran well, loved contact and had a passion for the game.

“We moved Dane shortly after being here to a tight end position where he embraced the role as a knowledgeable run blocker and route runner,” Wiese said. “He had a very good career here highlighted by touchdowns, unselfish play and being a great teammate. We will miss Dane as a player but more importantly as a leader and teammate,” he concluded.

Lew played in 37 games for the Bulldogs and started eight on offense. Used a lot for blocking,  he finished with 15 receptions for a 7.9 yard average with two touchdowns and a fumble recovery. He was named Academic All-Conference NSIC for three years and his team won the NSIC championship in 2018. The Bulldogs were North Division Champs in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021. In his final season this past fall, the team finished with an 8-3 record.

Playing football at a high level and maintaining good grades wasn’t always an easy task, according to Lew. 

“Being tired from early morning lifts or runs and having to go to class, or having practice in the afternoon and then having the motivation to do homework was a challenge,” he said. “All that paired with film, meetings and travel I really had to manage my time, especially having a Biochemistry major. Even with all its challenges, football was always a place where I could forget about all my academics and whatever else was going on in my life. Plus, if I needed help in a class, I usually had a teammate who could help me out,” he added.

During the football season, Lew and his teammates would lift weights three times a week in the morning, followed by position and special team meetings, treatment if you had an injury, and then practice at 2:00 in the afternoon.

“We would leave for away games the day before and  have a walkthrough, more meetings and team meals usually in the same city we were playing at,” he said. “Game days always started four hours before kickoff and involved a walkthrough, team meal, taping and warming up. After games we would pretty much eat and then go straight home.”

“During the off-season in the spring, we would have runs or lifts four days a week with some position workouts and meetings sprinkled in. Late spring we would have our “Spring Ball” and practice every other day with lifts and meetings on the off days,” continued Lew.

“Summer was my favorite because we would run Monday through Thursday at 6:00 a.m. and we could come lift whenever our work schedules allowed it, and every Monday we would play 7-on-7 against the defense,” he concluded.

No doubt, the lessons learned as a Division 2 football player and a high achiever on the academic level will serve Lew well as he moves on to future endeavors.

Dane is the son of Dave and Susan Lew.