The Heidelberg University “H” Association inducted its 25th class of inductees into the Heidelberg Athletic Hall of Fame Oct. 9. Included in the class are football alums Fred McGarvey ’56, Stan Parrish ’69 and Shaun Martin ’92, as well as women’s basketball standout Rachael Poland Novak ’03. Also joining the class is the 1998 men’s cross country team and the 1999 men’s outdoor track and field team.
The honorees were recognized during halftime of Heidelberg’s homecoming football game versus Muskingum University and were officially inducted later that evening at a banquet. View the banquet photo gallery.
Fred McGarvey ’56
It did not take long for the Heidelberg coaching staff to realize what an asset that Fred McGarvey provided not just on one side of the ball, but both. McGarvey affectionately became known as “McGarv” and was coined as the unsung hero on the team and by time his senior year came, he was a player that the Berg did not want to miss a down.
McGarvey, a native of Wellston, Ohio and a graduate of Wellston High School, joined the team as a member of the junior varsity in 1952, but was moved up to varsity at midseason. The move put him at center linebacker and on special defensive teams for every play for the remainder of the season and assisted in Heidelberg winning an Ohio Athletic Conference Championship.
In his inaugural campaign, McGarvey did not earn a letter, but he went on to earn his Heidelberg “H” in his final three seasons. As a sophomore and junior, he was a starting offensive guard and a defensive lineman. As a junior he landed a spot on the All-OAC team and the Berg won the league title again.
McGarvey’s most memorable season was his final. Once again he was a two-way starter and he played nearly every minute of every game to guide Heidelberg to an undefeated campaign. In 1955 he was voted by his teammates as the Most Valuable Player and landed a spot on the All-Ohio Dream Team’s Honorable Mention list.
Stan Parrish ’69
Parrish has relished the role of teacher of the game of football. His mentoring began at the Berg following suiting up and it’s turned into 39 years of success.
Parrish, a Valley Forge High School graduate, was a defensive back for Heidelberg from 1964-1967, earning two varsity letters. During his time donning the red, orange and black, the Berg posted a 12-18-5 record and was 7-16 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Following his playing days, Parrish got his start on the sidelines serving as a student assistant coach with Heidelberg, which laid the foundation for his present day success as the head coach at Ball State University.
Parrish is in his second season at the helm of the Cardinals. He became the first Ball State assistant coach to be promoted to head coach since the 1968 season.
Parrish was Ball State’s quarterbacks coach in 2005 and was promoted to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2006. In 2008, he was one of five finalists for the Broyles Award, which goes to the top assistant coach in the nation.
In 2008, Parrish engineered a Ball State offense which helped the Cardinals to a 12-2 overall record, an 8-0 Mid-American Conference mark, the MAC West Division Championship and the first back-to-back bowl games in school history. In addition, the Cardinals were nationally ranked for the first time in school history and spent nine weeks in the ESPN/USA Today Poll and the Associated Press Poll.
Prior to coming to Ball State, Parrish spent the 2002 and 2003 seasons as the quarterbacks coach of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 2002, he tutored starting quarterback Brad Johnson, who led Tampa Bay to a 12-4 regular season record and the first Super Bowl Championship in franchise history.
Shaun Martin ’92
Martin, a Columbus, Ohio native and graduate of Independence High School, credits his time at Heidelberg for developing him into the father, husband and friend that he is today.
His path to finding the Heidelberg gridiron began growing up on the east side of Columbus and attending Independence High School before garnering a scholarship from Central State University. Martin played football for one season at Central State before taking a year off in which his daughter, DeShauna, was born. Martin quickly realized that there was more to his life then just working in a factory and found a spot on the football team at the Berg under the guidance of Dick West.
While at Heidelberg, Martin played offensive tackle and was a three-year letter winner. He was tabbed a preseason All-American in 1990 and 1991 which led to a spot on the Ohio Athletic Conference Second Team in 1990 and he concluded his playing career with a nod on the all-conference first team. In 1991, Martin became the fifth player in the history of the program to earn the OAC’s Mike Gregory Award, which honors the top offensive lineman and offensive back. Added to his top OAC accolade in 1991 was an Honorable Mention All-American nod by Don Hansen’s National Football Gazette.
During his time on the line, Martin helped lead the way to a 14-15-1 overall record and a 12-15-1 mark against league foes. He also cleared the way for fellow All-American Jason Brown’s single game tying rushing touchdown mark, as well as a team record 413 single game rushing yards in 1991. Also in his final campaign the Berg ranked in the top three in the OAC in total offense and rushing yards per game.
Rachael Poland Novak ’03
A Toledo, Ohio native and Notre Dame High School graduate, Novak was a four-year letter winner at the Berg. She landed in the starting line up as a freshman and went on to lead the Berg to an overall record of 55-48 and a 32-38 mark in the Ohio Athletic Conference in four seasons.
Novak’s list of accolades began immediately as she earned a spot on the All-OAC Honorable Mention team as a freshman. She went on to land on the all-conference team every year and found a spot on the first team as a junior and senior. A six-time all-tournament selection, Novak was also tabbed a tournament Most Valuable Player on three occasions. She was named to the D3hoops.com National Team of the Week three times and was an OAC Player of the Week selection six times.
Novak closed out her time at the Berg with a spot on the Kodak All-American First Team, the D3hoops.com All-American Fourth Team and the Division III News All-American Second Team. Leading to her All-American accolades were nods on the All-Great Lakes Region and the D3hoops.com First Teams.
A middle childhood education major, Novak was equally impressive in the classroom. During her senior year she was named a scholar athlete of the month prior to landing a spot on the Verizon Academic All-Region Team and the CoSIDA Academic All-Region Team. She was also named to the Academic All-OAC First Team.
Upon graduation, Novak had scattered her named across the Heidelberg record books, and still holds the top spot in numerous categories. She is most known for becoming the all-time leading scorer at the Berg, and stands third all-time in the OAC, with 1,914 points.
1998 Men’s Cross Country Team
Building off a national championship appearance from a season prior, the 1998 men’s cross country team ran Heidelberg back into the national spotlight via the top spot in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
Paced by four All-OAC performers, Heidelberg improved on its third place finish in the league standings to take home the 1998 crown, marking the first OAC Men’s Cross Country Championship at Heidelberg. Heidelberg teamed up to unseat Mount Union College and Otterbein College, who had combined to win 14 consecutive titles. Its 1998 title marked the first of three straight to find a home in Tiffin.
Leading the way to the championship were juniors Adam Koppin, Seth Hothem and Jason Perez, along with freshman Aaron Hay. The group claimed second through fifth place en route to earning all-league accolades. In the final team standings, Heidelberg distanced itself from runner-up Otterbein by 43 points. Heidelberg finished with 25 points, while the Cardinals had 68. Along the way head coach Larry Brown was tabbed the OAC Coach of the Year.
In addition to its OAC championship, Heidelberg ranked among the nation’s elite, finishing the year standing 19th. The Berg finished runner-up at the Great Lakes Regional at Albion College to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. Hay finished 21st at the regional to qualify as an individual for nationals. He marked the first freshman at the Berg to accomplish such a feat. Also among the ranks of the Great Lakes Region, Brown was tabbed the coach of the year and Hay was the runner of the year. According to the Ohio Cross Country Coaches Association, Hay was named the freshman runner of the year and Brown picked up his third coach of the year honor for the season.
1999 Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Team
The track and field team moved into new territory with its 1999 outdoor men’s program. A combination of speed, distance running, jumping and throwing led to the program’s first Ohio Athletic Conference Championship. In the end, Heidelberg ranked seventh in the final national poll, which marks the highest ranking ever.
The Berg topped Mount Union, who was the defending champion and winner of 14 of the last 17 championships, including seven straight. Under the direction of head coach Larry Brown, Heidelberg totaled 123 points at the championships to distance itself from runner-up Baldwin-Wallace College, who had 85 points. Paced by 17 individual All-OAC performers, and one all-league relay, including seven championships, Heidelberg swept its league foes.
Earning multiple OAC Titles was junior Seth Hothem in the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter runs, as well as junior Adam Koppin in the 800-meter and 1,500-meter runs. Ben Korman was victorious in the 110-meter hurdles, while sophomore Matt O’Diam won the pole vault and the team of sophomoreTodd Gerwig, sophomore Greg Tuttamore, freshman Jason Maus and Koppin won the 3,200-meter relay.
Koppin added another all-league performance in the 5,000-meter run. Also adding to their championship with another top-three finish, and subsequent all-league honors, was Korman in the 400-meter hurdles and Gerwig in the 800-meter run. Rounding out the list of All-OAC honorees was Jason Perez in the 1,500-meter and 10,000-meter runs, freshman Chad Cutlip in the high jump, freshman Darren Nelson in the high jump and pole vault, freshman Aaron Hay in the 10,000-meter run and junior Joe Conduah in the triple jump.
For their outstanding efforts on the track, Hothem and Koppin were tabbed Co-Jim Wuskie Award winners at the OAC Championships, which honors the most outstanding runner.
Four individuals qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships hosted by Baldwin-Wallace College. Leading the way was Koppin who took home All-American honors in the 1,500-meter run after a fourth place finish. Hothem finished in 13th in the 10,000-meter run and Gerwig and Korman also represented the Berg at nationals in the 800-meter run and the 110-meter hurdles, respectively.
At the close of the season, Koppin was tabbed the Great Lakes Region Runner of the Year and a host of student-athletes picked up academic honors. Hothem, Perez and Conduah were named to the Academic All-OAC First Team, while Jim Thayer, Koppin and Gerwig were honorable mention selections. During the month of March Koppin was named the OAC Student-Athlete of the Month.
The purpose of the Heidelberg University Athletic Hall of Fame is to recognize Heidelberg University men and women who have distinguished themselves in the field of athletics, either by virtue of their performance on athletic teams representing the college, or by meritorious effort in behalf of athletics either as an undergraduate or in years after leaving the college.