For someone who never even filled out an application for the job, Tom Murphy became the perfect fit for Aberdeen Roncalli.
From his days as the head girls' basketball coach to his years as the athletic director, Murphy spent more time guiding the green and gold than any other person in the 49-year history of the school.
Now after 41 years of service, the 65-year-old Murphy has decided to retire at the end of June. He is finishing on the top of his game.
Murphy was not only chosen as a Region Athletic Director of the Year, a few weeks later he was selected as the Athletic Director of the Year by the South Dakota High School Coaches Association.
"It blew me away," Murphy said, "because when you stop to think, everyone that belongs to the coaches association has the opportunity to vote on that. I had no idea that many people even knew I existed. I was totally blown away."
Murphy came to Roncalli in 1972, after spending one year at Wolsey. The Dell Rapids native got a tip from a friend that a position was open at Roncalli.
"One thing a lot of people don't know," Murphy said, "I never wrote an application to this place."
Murphy came up for a visit, was offered the job and began to leave a lasting impression. He led Roncalli to its first Northeast Conference girls' basketball championship in 1983. Murphy still tears up when recalling that squad and calls it among his proudest moments at the school.
His players still fondly recall the accomplishment as well.
"It was a proud moment for Coach and the Lady Cavs," said Brenda (Traphagen) Fouts, a member of that team. "To this day, 30 years later, it is one of my most proudest moments in my life, to be the first team on the school banner."
Murphy, who is known for a bright yellow leisure suit that he used to wear back in the day, made the event more memorable by his attire.
"The night we won the game to win the conference, 'Murph' wore his legendary banana suit," Fouts recalled.
When the athletic director position opened in 1985, Murphy attempted to coach and do the AD job, but found it to be too demanding.
"It was getting to be too much being the AD and head coach," Murphy recalled. "So I had to pick one and I picked AD."
Instead of trying to coach games, Murphy began devoting his time to scheduling games, among other numerous duties. While Murphy found out how tough it is to reschedule games because of weather, he said the toughest part of his job was finding solid coaching candidates on a yearly basis.
"I don't think we've ever had a year where we were able to fill all the positions with teaching staff, so you have to reach out in the community and find people," Murphy explained. "We've had obviously a lot of real good people, but that's a big challenge finding people every year and it's a bigger challenge trying to find teaching candidates that are good candidates for teaching and also good candidates for coaching."
Regardless of who the coach happened to be and what their philosophy was, Murphy stuck with a simple rule: let the coaches coach.
"I've always tried to keep my nose out of the X's and O's," Murphy said. "That's what we hire the coaches for."
He applied the same belief system to whatever officials he hired. Being a former ref himself, Murphy has a true appreciation for what officials go through on game night.
"I've always believed don't holler at the officials," Murphy said. "They've got a whole different view out there than I do from the stands. So I don't criticize officials and I don't criticize coaches."
While coaches and athletes have come and gone during Murphy's tenure at the school, the one constant along the way has been the support of his wife, Marsha, who has been by his side every step of the path.
"One thing I clearly remember. I coached basketball from '72 through '87. In all those years, Marsha missed one game and that was because she was in the hospital and the doctor wouldn't let her out to go to the game," Murphy said, expressing thanks and gratitude for her support.
Marsha also had a positive influence on the players her husband coached.
"She never missed a game and kept the team book for years and was a great Lady Cav supporter," Fouts said.
Now, as Murphy moves into the next chapter of his life, he finds himself at the center of attention.
A banner with his name on it hangs in the gym. He was given a framed jersey with his name on it and he recently delivered the commencement address at the school's graduation in his trademark yellow suit. Not only that, but the Roncalli girls' basketball team qualified for its first state tournament during Murphy's final year with the school.
"I've been very humbled a lot of times this year," Murphy said of his curtain call at the school. "There's just been so many things since I announced my retirement."
Murphy, who eventually plans to move with his wife to Sioux Falls so they can spend time with their children and grandchildren, knows he could have made more money in public education, but has no regrets about his career choice.
"There were a lot of years I'd look at the salaries and I was making a lot less money here than I could have made someplace else, but this came to be home," he said.
Tom Murphy file
Who: Tom Murphy, athletic director and former coach at Aberdeen Roncalli.
What: Retiring in June after 41 years with the school.
Background: Murphy graduated from Dell Rapids St. Mary High School. He coached for one year at Wolsey before coming to Roncalli.
Family: Murphy and his wife, Marsha, have two children, TJ and Erin, both married and living in Sioux Falls, and six grandchilden.