December 11, 2025 • 9 mins
Saint Xavier High School announced an $8 million project called the Will Wolford Football Center, a full sports complex to replace 1970s-era infrastructure.
The school's president, Paul Colistra, details the new facility and other updates on the health of Louisville's five-times winner of the prestigious National Blue Ribbon designation.
The school's president, Paul Colistra, details the new facility and other updates on the health of Louisville's five-times winner of the prestigious National Blue Ribbon designation.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's bring in the president of Saint Xavier High School,
Paul cholesterra Hey, Paul, welcome back. Good to have you on.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Thanks, Terry, appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
It's good to talk to you. Brother. Last time I
saw you, we were around a campfire singing songs. Weren't
we Wasn't that what we were doing?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
We were I saw your good friend, doctor Henry Sadlow
in school today.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
He says, hello, Oh, that's good as Ian speaking to students.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
He is, He's just checking up on me and checking
up on our students.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
I think Saint x looks great. You know, I was
over not too long ago, we had our reunion. Wasn't
that long ago? And then today I see the official
announcement A two story Will Wolford Football Center is coming
to Saint x Please do tell more.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, it's a fantastic development for our school. We have
a eleven thousand square feet of space being renovated athletic space.
And a group of Will Wolford's friends and classmates and
teammates brought this concept and funds so a lead gift
on this effort and asked us to consider doing it.
(01:05):
And we decided that we need to do this project
both practically and aspirationally. Practically, it's serving one of the
largest athletic programs in the state of Kentucky. It's not
the region in our football program, it also serves our UH.
It's gonna so we're gonna renovate our athletic space, our
(01:25):
our football space, so a brand new locker room, and
we're also going to renovate a wrestling space and our
pe locker room where all the boys get dressed for
pe UH. And it's also we decided to extend it
out into our stadium, so we're gonna get some new
turf for the stadium, a new track, so our So
(01:46):
it's going to benefit you know, our football program, our
soccer program, our lacrosse program, our track and cross cross country.
And then one thing we're happy about we we have
a ton of community use in that stadium, so for example,
the Special Olympics comes in a couple times a year
and using that So you know, again we from a
practical standpoint, it's the last untouched space on our campus,
(02:07):
so we needed to do it. But both aspirationally we
want to do it because we believe we need to
provide these facilities for our guys.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Oh yeah, and it's time too, because one of my
buddies I think from my class, said that that locker
room hasn't changed since we were there.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
If you want to come in Terry, we can show
you your old life, the smell and the same deal.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
That it's right because I remember after football, you know,
you hang stuff in there and you smell it for
the next day and you come in and it's like,
oh my goodness, well we're gonna we're gonna launder it
at the end of the week. It's like, get out
there and sweat a little bit. This will be nice. Obviously,
you've got to keep facilities up to attract people to
want to play sports, and that really is old school stuff.
(02:55):
That's probably the nineteen seventies last time that's been touched.
So you're gonna make it so there there's an extension
across and then gets you to the football field. Is
that the idea?
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Yeah, that's right. So we're not building up or we're
not building out. We're taking the current space and we're
just gutting it and renovating essentially three floors of space.
And then you know that the guys walking out on
Friday night we'll have a more normal walk out into
the stadium, so you know, the students and the fans
(03:25):
can kind of gather around between the hedges, if you will,
and they'll kind of have a dramatic walk out into
the stadium.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
It's cool.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
And we've included a new video board too, So our
scoreboard is out of commission, and so we're gonna put
up a new video board and give those guys that
that cool experience that you see at colleges and universities,
that that's the new deal today.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
That's cool. And will Wolford's name is going on. And
I used to say when I was watching pro football,
whether he was a cult at the time or a
Steeler or Buffalo Bill, I'd always say, you see that
one guy right there, he's smarter than all the other
ten people on the offense combined. That's Willie Wilford. Baby. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Will's been great about it. He doesn't he doesn't know
like the spot, he does not. He's going along with this. Yeah,
and he's been He is one of those guys and
one of those names. If not the name, then when
you think about Stax football, you think about Will. So
we're doing the right thing.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Here by will no doubt about it. He's he's a
great Saint x alum and just a great Louisvillian on
top of all that. And uh, also, I understand the
placement exam for all current eighth grade boys. Does that
do soon?
Speaker 2 (04:37):
So the placement test is this Saturday at nine am,
and hopefully the snow will ease up. Every every student
in our school says we're having a snow day tomorrow,
but we'll be here Saturday. Yeah, nine am here at
stax is our is our placement exam.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Oh I forgot about it. There was snow coming tonight,
so we don't know whether school be cans we have
see what happened snow wise.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
But yeah, well if you ask our guys, if you
ask the guys, schools closed.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
So they don't know anything, not until you pull the
trigger on that.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
All right.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
So I remember taking my eighth grade placement exam and
they called me over to Saint X and said we
wanted to see you up close to say you are
so so so close to getting this right. And I
said what And they said the first question where you
fill out your name.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
No.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
I got in somehow and had a great experience at
Saint Xavier High School. It was a wonderful experience, which,
by the way, pays benefits your entire life. There's a
great brotherhood and you wind up going places and you
know a Saint X person is in charge of this
or whatever, and so you feel like you're part of
a community the rest of your life.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah, no doubt. I mean we you know, put Will's
name on this. For example, we have a lot of
names of what we call our Saint X Giants around campus.
So our Xaverian brothers we have, we have their names
everywhere in Will's name and is going to go on
this new football center. So you know, we talk about
that legacy to our guys, that you're joining something much
(06:11):
bigger than yourself. So so we try really hard to
make sure our guys today understand that, you know, they're
standing on the shoulders of those those giants, and it
really ties our community and our network, you know, together
in a really special way.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
All right. So you have eighth graders taking a placement
exam and how's the ask on that, how's the advance
on that? Do you know, do they apply in advance?
So you have an idea that there's still a healthy
incoming class for next year.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Yeah, you know, we want to be about a school
of about three hundred per class is what we shoot for.
So you know, we want to land in and around
twelve hundred boys we think is right for our programming.
So that gives us a good a good group, and
a good size class ratio, if you will, student teacher
ratio in our classrooms. It allows boys to make athletic teams.
(07:00):
It keeps our cafeteria at the right levels. So you know,
we we kind of we don't more is not always better, right,
We just want to make sure that we can serve
the students that want to be here at SANAX. So
you know, this is truly a placement test. It's not
an entrance test. So we basically say to a family,
you're going to come and we're going to be able
(07:21):
to academic academically evaluate where you are so we can
put you in the right classes. It's not a yes,
you can come here or no, you can't come here.
It's a we want to make sure we understand where
you're learning and how you're learning, and how we can
best place you in the right classes. So we expect
to be in around three hundred students again is kind
(07:42):
of where we shoot.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Yeah, okay, excellent, and there's a place for everybody. They're
just you know, you will you'll find a place for
them in an academic scheme that works for them, and
that's that's that's great too, all right, Paul. The only
thing I didn't ask is what's the expected finished date
on this this football club complex.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
So we're we're under construction. So of the eight million
project costs, we've raised about five million of that. And
the beauty of this project and most projects we do
at san X, we're not going to ask our parents
to pay for these projects through you know, a really
increased tuition year to year, and we're not going to
(08:23):
reduce expenses to pay our people less. What we're our
board has always been pre uh pre direct that we're
going to go to our benefactors and our alumni and
ask them to get behind what we want to do,
and so far they've done that. So you know, we're
at the right spots financially to be able to start
(08:45):
now and we're going to have this project complete for
the start of next school year.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Outstanding. All right, great, talking to you again, and go Tigers.
I'll talk to you down the road.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Thank you, Terry, appreciate it. Go Tigers.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
There's Paul Callistra. He's president of Saint Xavier High School.
Placement exam Saturday morning. You can go to their website
and learn more. Back in a few you're on news
radio eight forty whas
Let's bring in the president of Saint Xavier High School,
Paul cholesterra Hey, Paul, welcome back. Good to have you on.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Thanks, Terry, appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
It's good to talk to you. Brother. Last time I
saw you, we were around a campfire singing songs. Weren't
we Wasn't that what we were doing?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
We were I saw your good friend, doctor Henry Sadlow
in school today.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
He says, hello, Oh, that's good as Ian speaking to students.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
He is, He's just checking up on me and checking
up on our students.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
I think Saint x looks great. You know, I was
over not too long ago, we had our reunion. Wasn't
that long ago? And then today I see the official
announcement A two story Will Wolford Football Center is coming
to Saint x Please do tell more.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, it's a fantastic development for our school. We have
a eleven thousand square feet of space being renovated athletic space.
And a group of Will Wolford's friends and classmates and
teammates brought this concept and funds so a lead gift
on this effort and asked us to consider doing it.
(01:05):
And we decided that we need to do this project
both practically and aspirationally. Practically, it's serving one of the
largest athletic programs in the state of Kentucky. It's not
the region in our football program, it also serves our UH.
It's gonna so we're gonna renovate our athletic space, our
(01:25):
our football space, so a brand new locker room, and
we're also going to renovate a wrestling space and our
pe locker room where all the boys get dressed for
pe UH. And it's also we decided to extend it
out into our stadium, so we're gonna get some new
turf for the stadium, a new track, so our So
(01:46):
it's going to benefit you know, our football program, our
soccer program, our lacrosse program, our track and cross cross country.
And then one thing we're happy about we we have
a ton of community use in that stadium, so for example,
the Special Olympics comes in a couple times a year
and using that So you know, again we from a
practical standpoint, it's the last untouched space on our campus,
(02:07):
so we needed to do it. But both aspirationally we
want to do it because we believe we need to
provide these facilities for our guys.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Oh yeah, and it's time too, because one of my
buddies I think from my class, said that that locker
room hasn't changed since we were there.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
If you want to come in Terry, we can show
you your old life, the smell and the same deal.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
That it's right because I remember after football, you know,
you hang stuff in there and you smell it for
the next day and you come in and it's like,
oh my goodness, well we're gonna we're gonna launder it
at the end of the week. It's like, get out
there and sweat a little bit. This will be nice. Obviously,
you've got to keep facilities up to attract people to
want to play sports, and that really is old school stuff.
(02:55):
That's probably the nineteen seventies last time that's been touched.
So you're gonna make it so there there's an extension
across and then gets you to the football field. Is
that the idea?
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Yeah, that's right. So we're not building up or we're
not building out. We're taking the current space and we're
just gutting it and renovating essentially three floors of space.
And then you know that the guys walking out on
Friday night we'll have a more normal walk out into
the stadium, so you know, the students and the fans
(03:25):
can kind of gather around between the hedges, if you will,
and they'll kind of have a dramatic walk out into
the stadium.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
It's cool.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
And we've included a new video board too, So our
scoreboard is out of commission, and so we're gonna put
up a new video board and give those guys that
that cool experience that you see at colleges and universities,
that that's the new deal today.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
That's cool. And will Wolford's name is going on. And
I used to say when I was watching pro football,
whether he was a cult at the time or a
Steeler or Buffalo Bill, I'd always say, you see that
one guy right there, he's smarter than all the other
ten people on the offense combined. That's Willie Wilford. Baby. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Will's been great about it. He doesn't he doesn't know
like the spot, he does not. He's going along with this. Yeah,
and he's been He is one of those guys and
one of those names. If not the name, then when
you think about Stax football, you think about Will. So
we're doing the right thing.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Here by will no doubt about it. He's he's a
great Saint x alum and just a great Louisvillian on
top of all that. And uh, also, I understand the
placement exam for all current eighth grade boys. Does that
do soon?
Speaker 2 (04:37):
So the placement test is this Saturday at nine am,
and hopefully the snow will ease up. Every every student
in our school says we're having a snow day tomorrow,
but we'll be here Saturday. Yeah, nine am here at
stax is our is our placement exam.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Oh I forgot about it. There was snow coming tonight,
so we don't know whether school be cans we have
see what happened snow wise.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
But yeah, well if you ask our guys, if you
ask the guys, schools closed.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
So they don't know anything, not until you pull the
trigger on that.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
All right.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
So I remember taking my eighth grade placement exam and
they called me over to Saint X and said we
wanted to see you up close to say you are
so so so close to getting this right. And I
said what And they said the first question where you
fill out your name.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
No.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
I got in somehow and had a great experience at
Saint Xavier High School. It was a wonderful experience, which,
by the way, pays benefits your entire life. There's a
great brotherhood and you wind up going places and you
know a Saint X person is in charge of this
or whatever, and so you feel like you're part of
a community the rest of your life.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah, no doubt. I mean we you know, put Will's
name on this. For example, we have a lot of
names of what we call our Saint X Giants around campus.
So our Xaverian brothers we have, we have their names
everywhere in Will's name and is going to go on
this new football center. So you know, we talk about
that legacy to our guys, that you're joining something much
(06:11):
bigger than yourself. So so we try really hard to
make sure our guys today understand that, you know, they're
standing on the shoulders of those those giants, and it
really ties our community and our network, you know, together
in a really special way.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
All right. So you have eighth graders taking a placement
exam and how's the ask on that, how's the advance
on that? Do you know, do they apply in advance?
So you have an idea that there's still a healthy
incoming class for next year.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Yeah, you know, we want to be about a school
of about three hundred per class is what we shoot for.
So you know, we want to land in and around
twelve hundred boys we think is right for our programming.
So that gives us a good a good group, and
a good size class ratio, if you will, student teacher
ratio in our classrooms. It allows boys to make athletic teams.
(07:00):
It keeps our cafeteria at the right levels. So you know,
we we kind of we don't more is not always better, right,
We just want to make sure that we can serve
the students that want to be here at SANAX. So
you know, this is truly a placement test. It's not
an entrance test. So we basically say to a family,
you're going to come and we're going to be able
(07:21):
to academic academically evaluate where you are so we can
put you in the right classes. It's not a yes,
you can come here or no, you can't come here.
It's a we want to make sure we understand where
you're learning and how you're learning, and how we can
best place you in the right classes. So we expect
to be in around three hundred students again is kind
(07:42):
of where we shoot.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Yeah, okay, excellent, and there's a place for everybody. They're
just you know, you will you'll find a place for
them in an academic scheme that works for them, and
that's that's that's great too, all right, Paul. The only
thing I didn't ask is what's the expected finished date
on this this football club complex.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
So we're we're under construction. So of the eight million
project costs, we've raised about five million of that. And
the beauty of this project and most projects we do
at san X, we're not going to ask our parents
to pay for these projects through you know, a really
increased tuition year to year, and we're not going to
(08:23):
reduce expenses to pay our people less. What we're our
board has always been pre uh pre direct that we're
going to go to our benefactors and our alumni and
ask them to get behind what we want to do,
and so far they've done that. So you know, we're
at the right spots financially to be able to start
(08:45):
now and we're going to have this project complete for
the start of next school year.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Outstanding. All right, great, talking to you again, and go Tigers.
I'll talk to you down the road.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Thank you, Terry, appreciate it. Go Tigers.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
There's Paul Callistra. He's president of Saint Xavier High School.
Placement exam Saturday morning. You can go to their website
and learn more. Back in a few you're on news
radio eight forty whas
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