The Basilian Fathers of Saskatoon, Roman Catholic priests of the Congregation of St. Basil of Toronto came to Saskatoon in 1936 at the request of Bishop Gerald Murray CSsR and President Walter Murray of the University of Saskatchewan to found a Catholic college in federation with the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. For the first thirty years, the local Basilian council also served as the governing council of the college, but in 1966 two separate councils, a Basilian council and a college council, were formed. Because of the overlapping of the Basilian religious community and the faculty of St. Thomas More College, the history of the two was at times inseparable. Much of the history of the college, therefore, can be found in the Basilian records and similarly, records of the college provide information about the history of the Basilian Fathers of Saskatoon.

Reginald J.G. Bateman was born on October 12, 1883 in County Kerry, Ireland. He received his early education at Royal School, Co. Fermanagh, and both his B.A. (1906) and MA. (1909) from Trinity College. Shortly after his graduation, he immigrated to Canada and was hired as Professor of English at the University of Saskatchewan. He enlisted as a private in the 28th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), in September 1914 and served in France. Recalled in 1916 to take command of the Saskatchewan Co. of the Western Universities Battalion and promoted to the rank of Major, Bateman [voluntarily] reverted to the rank of lieutenant to return to France in 1917, where he was wounded. He returned to France once more, as Captain of the 46th Battalion CEF. He was killed in action on September 3, 1918.

Dr. Frank Lester Bates was born in 1909 in Colorado. He moved to Saskatchewan two years later and completed his elementary and high school education in Luseland, Saskatchewan. He attended Normal School in 1927-1928 in Calgary, Alberta, and completed a B.A. and B.Ed. at the University of Saskatchewan. He acquired a Doctor of Education degree at the University of California in Berkeley in 1947 with special emphasis on Elementary Education and Educational Psychology. His career in education in Saskatchewan included teaching at the Saskatchewan Teachers' College in Moose Jaw and Regina (1958-1963). He was Principal of the Saskatchewan Teachers' College, Regina from 1963 to 1964, then became Dean of the newly formed Faculty of Education at the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus (1964-1967). He continued to teach in the Faculty of Education until 1977. He is currently retired and resides in Regina.