Larry Kindbom, the mastermind behind the renaissance of Washington University’s football program, continues to carry the Bears to new heights. Since assuming the head coaching reins in 1989, Kindbom has overhauled the Bears’ gridiron program and has guided Washington University to the upper echelon of Division III football.

After winning a total of 24 games in the 1980s, four of which Kindbom was responsible for in 1989, the Bears have since gone 122-69 (.639) with eight University Athletic Association (UAA) titles and the first NCAA playoff appearance in team history in 1999. Kindbom and his troops put together a 7-3 campaign in 2007, extending their school-record run of winning seasons to 15 in a row.

Washington University capped off the most successful decade in team history with one of the most successful seasons in history in 1999. The Bears won their first outright UAA title, posted an 8-3 record and earned the school’s first bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs.

In 1995, the Bears savored their most successful campaign since 1948, finishing the season with a 9-1 record. Washington U. captured a share of the UAA title in 1994, 1995 and 1996 to go along with the 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 outright crowns.

With 7-3 records in 1990, 1994, 1996 and 2007, an 8-3 season in 1999, an 8-2 mark in 2001 and his 9-1 mark from 1995, Kindbom is now the only coach in school history to have guided seven different Washington University teams to seven or more victories. Kindbom ranks eighth in NCAA Division III in winningest active coaches and 32nd in Division III history with 154 career victories.

As a collegiate athlete, Kindbom lettered four years at Kalamazoo College, a Division III school in Michigan. Then, after serving as an assistant coach at three NCAA Division I institutions, he guided Division III Kenyon College for six successful seasons before moving to Washington University in 1989.

Prior to his six-year stint at Kenyon, the Lancaster, Pa., native served two years as a graduate assistant at Ohio State under Woody Hayes and four years as an assistant coach at the University of Akron. After Akron, Kindbom was handed the coaching reins at Kenyon in 1983, where his first team enjoyed a 5-3-1 record. The following year, Kenyon savored its finest season since 1976, equaling a school record for victories with a 7-3 mark. Kenyon also was nationally ranked in 1984, and rated fifth in the nation for its passing offense.

Besides his resurrection of football at Washington University, Kindbom has played a valuable leadership role in St. Louis, helping found the area’s National Football Foundation/College Hall of Fame chapter in 1992. At the organization’s annual banquet in 1994, Kindbom received the Eddie Cochems Award, an inaugural honor given for his contributions to amateur football in the St. Louis area.

He co-directs the NFL Coaching Academy with the St. Louis Rams for St. Louis youth coaches, and has been instrumental in reinstituting and organizing the St. Louis Metropolitan Football Coaches Association and conducting local summer youth camps for football.

Kindbom is on the Board of Advisors for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), and is a speaker for the nationally-based Character Plus Program. He serves his profession at the national level as a member of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Ethics Committee.

Kindbom, a former member of the NCAA’s Division III championship selection committee, earned his bachelor of arts degree from Kalamazoo in 1974 with a major in political science and a minor in physical education. He earned a master’s degree in physical education from Western Michigan in 1976, and is a doctoral candidate in physical education (athletic administration) from Ohio State.

Kindbom married the former Kate Webster on July 8, 1989. The couple’s first child, Kelsey Mann, is 16 years old. Kindbom also has two sons, Kevin, 30, and Kyle, 28, and four grandchildren.

Quick Facts About Kindbom

Years at WU: 20 (126-74, .630)

Previous coaching experience:
1974-76: Assistant football coach at Kalamazoo College
1975 (Spring): Graduate assistant football coach at Western Michigan University
1977-79: Graduate assistant football coach at Ohio State University
1979-83: Assistant football coach at University of Akron
1983-89: Head football coach at Kenyon College; Also served as head baseball and head golf coach

College career:
Lettered four years in both football and baseball at Kalamazoo College. Football honors included most improved his sophomore year and honorable mention all-league his senior year. In baseball he was chosen most improved his freshman year, second team all- league his sophomore and junior years, team MVP his junior year, and elected team captain his junior and senior seasons. He also participated on the wrestling team one year, and, again, was selected most improved.

Education:
Bachelor's degree in political science from Kalamazoo College. (1974); Master's degree in physical education from Western Michigan (1976).

Family:
He and his wife, Kate, have one daughter, Kelsey Mann (16). Kindbom also has two sons, Kevin (30) and Kyle (28).

Year-By-Year with Kindbom (1983-2007)