Heidelberg University Athletics

In the pantheon of all-time great head coaches throughout the rich history of Heidelberg Athletics, Larry Brown remains among the very best. As head coach of the men’s cross country and track & field teams during the 1990s, Brown guided the Student Princes to a total of five Ohio Athletic Conference titles.  

Between 1992 and 2000, Brown -- two-time OAC Track Coach of the Year -- mentored eight All-America performances and six OAC special award winners.  

Led by Dustin Lamvermeyer and Adam Koppin, along with others such as Aaron Hay and Jason Perez, Brown’s cross country runners crushed the competition. Heidelberg won the OAC Championship in 1998 and 1999 under Brown’s watch, the first two titles of a three-peat.  

Under Brown’s tutelage, the men’s cross country team qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship in 1997, 1998 and 1999, placing in the top 20 each time.  

With a balanced scoring attack, Brown’s distance runners joined forces with a potent group of sprinters and jumpers to win the OAC outdoor crown at the 1999 and 2000 championships. Special OAC Award winners included Koppin, Todd Gerwig, Darren Nelson and Seth Hothem. Joe Conduah, a standout football and track athlete, was named the Division III Woody Hayes National Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2001.

To date, 17 track & field records set during the Brown era remain. Nine of the cross country program’s best times were recorded in the ’90s. Academically, student-athletes from his teams earned five CoSIDA Academic All-American honors and 44 USTFCCCA All-Academic Awards.  

Known for his ability to foster team chemistry, Brown stays in close contact with many of his former student-athletes. In addition to speaking when his four OAC championship teams were inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame, Brown served as presenter at the induction ceremony for Conduah, Koppin and Lamvermeyer. 

Brown’s four regular-season titles are tied for the third-most by a head coach in ‘Berg history. Only Jason Miller, with three wrestling and five volleyball crowns, and Matt Palm, with five baseball titles, have more.  

After departing Heidelberg in 2000, Brown began a new career advising clients on their investments, employer-sponsored retirement plans and the regulatory landscape that surrounds them. Today, Brown and his team at DRW Financial Services, which he founded and owns, currently serve as a trusted advisor to numerous business owners, executives and employees nationwide. They also consult on the investments of more than 400 families.

Brown also continued to coach -- trading runners for his sons’ youth soccer teams. Today, Brown lives in Port Clinton, Ohio, with his wife, Cindy. They enjoy spending time with their sons and their families, David (Amber and grandson Asher) who live in Port Clinton, Jonathan (Keeley) who live in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, and Joshua (Meghan) who live in Middletown, Ohio.

This profile appeared in the 2023 Hall of Fame Banquet program.