'Berg Hall of Fame Member Receives OHSAA Ethics and Integrity Award

Heidelberg College graduate and Athletic Hall of Fame member Duane Warns, class of 1961, received the 2007 Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Ethics and Integrity Award.

The Ethics and Integrity Award is presented annually to an Ohioan who has displayed outstanding traits of ethical behavior and integrity in the performance of duties and responsibilities and is a role model for others. It is the highest award that the OHSAA Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Committee may bestow and Warns was selected by his peers on the current committee. Warns has been an assistant commissioner at the OHSAA since July 1990 and has been the chair of the OHSAA’s Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Committee for 12 years.

While overseeing the sportsmanship committee, Warns has been a leading advocate for good sportsmanship and oversaw the state’s progressive recognition program. He has visited numerous schools and spoken to a variety of groups to help promote the lifelong values of interscholastic athletics.

Warns was a member of the Heidelberg men’s basketball and track and field teams from 1957-1961. On the hardwood, he was a two-time Ohio Athletic Conference honoree and earned Heidelberg’s Sayger Award in his senior season. At the time of his graduation, Warns held the Heidelberg records for most points in a single game (45), points in a single season (412), most points in a career (1,092) and most field goals made in a single game (21). Warns’ 1,092 career points currently ranks 15th all-time at the Berg.

On the track, Warns earned four letters while participating in the high and low hurdles, as well as the high jump and long jump. He competed in the OAC Meet all four years.

Warns was recognized for his dedication and support of Heidelberg athletics, along with his achievements, with an induction into the Heidelberg Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988. 

Following earning his bachelor’s degree from Heidelberg in 1961, Warns continued his schooling, earning a maser’s degree in education from Bowling Green State University in 1963. While earning his master’s degree, Warns served as the head basketball coach at Hopewell-Loudon High School until 1964. Prior to joining the OHSAA, Warns served the Bellevue School District in multiple capacities. Warns began his tenure at Bellevue as the basketball coach (1964-74) and also served as the athletic director (1974-78), assistant principal (1978-80) and as principal (1980-90).

A native of nearby Bascom, Ohio, Warns participated in baseball, track and basketball at Hopewell-Loudon. Overall he earned 11 varsity letters, making him the first student in school history to earn 11 letters. While in high school, Warns received all-league and all-district honors, while racking up 1,220 career points.

Warns and his wife, Nancy ’64, have three grown children and six grandchildren. Warns is an avid supporter of Heidelberg athletics and along with his wife and his lifetime friend and former teammate Sam Schubert ’63, and Schubert’s wife, Carol ’63, have given back to the men’s basketball program by the dedication of the Warns-Schubert Players Lounge. Schubert also joins Warns in the Athletic Hall of Fame, and the duo worked together for 26 years with the Bellevue School District.

The following describes the achievements of Warns and Schubert, as written by Warns. It appears in the entryway to the Warns-Schubert Players Lounge.

“Duane Warns ’61 and Sam Schubert ’63 were high school teammates, college teammates, professional colleagues and lifetime friends. During their basketball playing days at Heidelberg College Duane and Sam both established the individual single game scoring records of 45 and 46 points respectively. They also both broke the college’s single season scoring record. Duane was the first player in Heidelberg history to score more than 1,000 points in his career. Duane and Sam were three year starters, MVP’s, and served as captains for the Student Princes. They both were named to the OAC all-conference teams. As seniors at Heidelberg Duane was awarded the Sayger Award in 1961 and Sam was awarded the Prugh Prize for Athletics in 1963. Duane was inducted into the Heidelberg Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988 and Sam was inducted in 1989. Duane and Sam worked together for 26 years (1964-1990) at Bellevue High School, serving as coaches, teachers and administrators. Sam married Carol Sours Schubert ’63. Duane married Nancy Ackerman Warns ’64.”