Dave Brown, former Huron and Sandusky AD, to be inducted into OIAAA Hall of Fame

HURON — The job of athletic director can be somewhat of a thankless position.There are long hours of working behind the scenes to juggle the wants of coaches with the needs of athletes within the budget of the administration.Dave Brown excelled at it, and is finally in the spotlight for his efforts.Brown, who was an AD for 18 years at Huron and Sandusky, will be inducted into the Ohio Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (OIAAA) Hall of Fame during the organization's annual conference this November in Columbus."I'm excited," Brown said. "I guess the thing I'm proudest of is I really, really enjoyed my job. I loved me job and I always tried to put on a first-class experience for the players, coaches, officials and fans."Brown is part of an 11-man class to be inducted in 2016 and the only recipient to have served two high schools. Carey Clum of Port Clinton was inducted into the hall last year and Art Bucci of Fremont Ross went in in 2014."I think Dave was special," said former Huron football coach Tony Legando, who nominated Brown for the honor. "He cared and he loved it. He wasn't satisfied with just scheduling games, he always wanted to be part of making things the best. He wanted to give kids the best experience he possibly could."The OIAAA is the second oldest organization for athletic directors in the nation, with 2016 marking its 60th annual conference. Nominations are submitted to the OIAAA from the six district associations. The general criteria for selection includes ethical conduct, integrity, professionalism, length of service and contributions to the profession, the school and the community."An AD can be so busying doing things that they don't have time talk about it, from mowing and lining the field to scheduling and budgeting," said Bruce Brown, current director of the OIAAA. But when someone around the state says the name Dave Brown, people know he's one of the best."Brown, a 1967 Huron graduate, began his career in education at his alma mater in 1971 after graduating from Bowling Green State University. He earned his master's degree in history in 1976 and was named athletic director at Huron in 1981.He left Huron in 1985 and served as AD at Sandusky for the next seven years, returning to Huron in 1992 as AD and assistant principal. He was AD and assistant principal at Edison in 1994 and high school principal at Edison in 1995, before returning one more time to Huron in 1996 as AD and assistant principal.Brown retired in 2000, but continued teaching history at Sandusky until 2009. He completed his 40-year career in education with two years of substitute teaching."I've certainly been around some great coaches that made my job easy," he said. "All the coaches I worked with were outstanding. And the principals — Gene Kidwell, Lynn Studer, Andy Garrick and Will Folger — were all easy to work for. They let me do my job."Legando nominated Brown for the honors a number of years ago, and resubmitted it in the winter."I didn't expect this to happen so long after I retired, but I certainly appreciate it," Brown said. "This is certainly an honor. I am very excited but I didn't expect it."