College Football | Mount Union will rename stadium in honor of Larry Kehres

The entirety of legendary College Football Hall of Fame member Larry Kehres' playing and coaching career was made inside Mount Union Stadium.

Now, the facility will bear his name. The university on Monday announced that the oldest college football stadium in Ohio will be dedicated as Kehres Stadium on June 11.

The Larry and Linda Kehres Plaza will be constructed on the southwest corner of the stadium. The plaza will honor the importance of family in both of their lives and the life of the Mount Union football program. The area will also feature a list of assistant coaches during Kehres' head coaching career.

Also, the Larry T. Kehres Coaching Endowment for Football has been established to support the Purple Raiders' football program. The funds generated by the endowment will go towards coaching positions and complementary program needs, such as training or equipment expenses.

Spending from this endowment will be allocated annually as part of the annual budget process. The funds will be used at the discretion of the head coach in a manner consistent with the university's practices and policies.

Purple Raider football alumni and friends of the program and university are invited to donate to the fund at giving.mountunion.edu/kehres.

The university will dedicate the stadium, plaza, and the Dom and Karen Capers Football Building at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 11. The night before, at Alliance Country Club, a reunion of the Purple Raiders' national championship teams of 1996, 1997 and 1998 will be held. The following day, following the dedication, will be the annual Mount Union Football golf outing at Tannenhauf Golf Club at 1 p.m. Visit athletics.mountunion.edu/sports/football for information to register for the golf outing.

Kehres, a graduate of Southeast High School, is the winningest coach in college football history with a winning percentage of .929 (332-24-3). He graduated from Mount Union in 1971 and returned to the school in 1974 as an assistant coach after two years at Bowling Green State as a graduate assistant and one season at Johnstown-Monroe High School as head coach.

That same year he also started the swimming program at Mount Union and coached numerous standouts, including eight-time All-American Sean Mallotke. Kehres was named director of athletics in 1985 and the following year succeeded Ken Wable as head football coach.

In 27 years he built one of the most successful programs in all of college football. Under Kehres, the Purple Raiders posted 21 undefeated regular seasons and 23 Ohio Athletic Conference championships. From 2000-2013, Kehres compiled a record of 182-7 with seven national championships. He is one of only 10 coaches in college football history with 300 wins.

He was named American Football Coaches Association Regional Coach of the Year a record 17 times, AFCA National Coach of the Year eight times, OAC Coach of the Year six times and in 2008 became the second NCAA Division III winner of the Liberty Mutual National Coach of the Year award.

In 2017, he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Kehres been an active member of the AFCA, serving on the board of directors and competing a term as the organization's president. He served as offensive coordinator for the US National Football team as they won the gold medal in the World Championships in Austria.

Under Kehres, Mount Union had seven national players of the year, 18 Academic All-Americans, three national finalists for the Campbell Trophy, also known as the "Academic Heisman".

In 2008 quarterback Greg Micheli was named Academic All-American of the Year and a recipient of the NCAA Top VIII Award given to the top student-athletes in the nation. In 2009, punter Jay Carpenter became NCAA Division III football's first winner of the NCAA Elite 90 Award, given for academic excellence in championship competition, and in 2012 safety Nick Driskill was the NCAA Division III football Academic All-American of the Year.

During Kehres' tenure as director of athletes, Mount Union won 13 of its 15 OAC men's all-sports trophies and four women's all-sports trophies. In 2014, Mount Union was the highest-ranked Division III program in Ohio and finished 19th out of 444 programs nationally in the Learfield Directors Cup standings, ranking athletic department success.

He oversaw the expansion of varsity sports — currently at 24, increased the athletics staff and led an aggressive plan to enhance and create some of NCAA Division III top facilities, including the $17-million expansion and renovation of the Timken Physical Education Building and Peterson Field House.

Kehres was also an associate professor of physical education and values what his students have accomplished in the classroom.

He and his wife, Linda, have three grown children, Vince, Faith, and Jan and eight grandchildren.

Vince is the defensive coordinator at the University of Toledo after registering a 95-6 record and the 2017 national championship in seven seasons as Mount Union's head coach, succeeding his father.

Kehres' son-in-law, Geoff Dartt, is 17-1 entering his third season as Mount Union's head coach with a pair of OAC championships.

This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Mount Union football stadium will be renamed Kehres Stadium