Riders' Wilson proud of his dad, RIT

CEDAR RAPIDS - Stu Wilson is not going back on his college commitment.

The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders forward is Yale bound, eager to get an Ivy League education and be part of the Bulldogs hockey program. You couldn't blame him much, though, if he did an about face and decided to attend Rochester Institute of Technology.

His father, Wayne, is head coach there and leads the ultimate underdog into its first Frozen Four tonight when RIT gets Wisconsin in a national semifinal at Ford Field in Detroit.

These Tigers are even more of a surprise than the Butler men's basketball team.

“Really proud,” Stu Wilson said. “I watched all the games, and it's unbelievable. I saw my dad last weekend, and he's pumped. Growing up, I always went to regionals with them and stuff like that when they were Division III. I was giving him a hard time, saying ‘the one time you make it (to the Frozen Four) and I'm away from home and can't go to your games.' It's just been really nice for him and the program to come full circle, from D-III to a predominant D-I program.”

RIT, which won national championships in Division II and III, joined D-I for the 2005-06 season. Now it has a chance at a title hat trick.

Wayne Wilson switched his practice schedule around last weekend so he could drive from New York to Youngstown, Ohio, to watch his son play for the RoughRiders. It was the first time he had gotten a chance to watch Stu this season.

And, no, he didn't ask his son to change his mind and go to RIT.

“I actually considered it a little bit,” Stu said. “But I never knew if I would be at that point. Then as I got better (as a player), I didn't know if I wanted to stay at home, I didn't know if I wanted to play for my dad because I could get chirped a lot (by teammates). I just ended up somewhere where I could branch out and try to make a name for myself.

“I'm not changing my mind.”