Biedenbender

NEW ULM — Dave Biedenbender already has a book full of memories and accomplishments at Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School, but now he’s preparing to add a new chapter.

After coaching and teaching at MVL from 2000-2015, Biedenbender will return to MVL next school year to be the school’s athletic director, teach and coach the girls varsity basketball team.

Biedenbender’s New Ulm ties started when he attended Dr. Martin Luther College, graduating in 1988.

After returning to the school, now Martin Luther College, to be an admissions counselor and assistant coach for five years, Biedenbender has been MLC’s athletic director since 2022 after being asked to serve in place of the late Jim Unke.

Biedenbender got his teaching and coaching start in his home state of Wisconsin and has had a love and respect for MLC over the years, but he has also had some of the finest moments and memories of his professional career come at MVL.

With those moments and memories in mind, Biedenbender will now have a chance to make new ones as he will take over for current MVL AD, teacher and coach Craig Morgan, who will retire and have his last day with the school June 30.

“I received the call the first week of December, I think it was the first Tuesday of December, and I thought about it for about three weeks, which is pretty typical for having a call,” Biedenbender said. “I had been contemplating getting back into high school coaching and high school teaching possibly towards the end of my career here and the opportunities happened to come up with MVL.

“Even though I love what I’m doing at MLC and was very appreciative of that opportunity over the last nine years, specifically the last four years being the AD, I was ready to get back to the high school level, so some coaching again and be involved with teaching again, so this was a great opportunity. I’ll be sad to leave MLC, but I’m excited to get back to MVL, too.”

Biedenbender said Morgan was happy to have someone familiar with MVL take over for him when he retires.

“We’re good friends and so to be able to have him pass me the baton into the future will be great,” Biedenbender said. “He’ll still be in the area, so he’ll be able to answer questions that I have and guide me a little bit, because high school AD is different than college AD. There are different things they have to do that I didn’t have to do at the college level, so it’ll be good to have him around.

“He’s done an awesome job at MVL, he’s the ultimate PR guy and representative of MVL. A smiling face, whenever you see him at games and events and whatever it is, so he’ll be greatly missed there and I feel privileged to be able to step in and take over for him and keep things going in the right direction there.”

Much like Morgan, Biedenbender will be filling multiple roles at MVL as he will become the school’s AD, teach P.E. and health and coach girls basketball.

“Very excited to get back into girls basketball coaching,” Biedenbender said. “I had 15 years of it there the first time and I’m excited because they’ve got a good group of girls there. Young, a young group, and I’m very excited to work with them and see where we can take them next year.”

While he doesn’t go around town boasting about his high school coaching record, Biedenbender certainly has the right to be proud of it. During his time as Chargers girls basketball head coach, he compiled a record of 316-99, which included eight conference titles and three state tournament appearances in 2005, 2006 and 2008.

He was also a four-time Tomahawk Conference Coach of the Year and four-time Section Coach of the Year.

Biedenbender will now prepare to put his skills and knowledge to the test in his new role at MVL this coming fall, and he is excited and confident that the knowledge gained over his career will serve him well.

“As you look back on my years in teaching and coaching, I’ve been in various different spots,” he said. “Been in grade school, been in high school, been in college, and I feel like each of those experiences has provided me with some sort of knowledge and background and so on to do the next thing. Now I feel like having been an athletic director at the college level, coached at the college level, that’s going to be a benefit to me as I go into this position and become the athletic director and get back into coaching and teaching at MVL.

“And while there will be many differences between being a high school athletic director and college athletic director, I feel like God has prepared me well to be able to take over a position like this now.”

As Biedenbender wraps up his final year as MLC AD, he said the college has meant a lot to him and his wife, Cathy, as they both attended college there and worked there together following a stint at Sienna Lutheran Academy in Missouri City, Texas. He said being able to take over the AD position in 2022 was the thrill of a lifetime he will forever be grateful for.

“God, through MLC, blessed me with the opportunity to do a four-year stint of athletic directorship at the college level at MLC,” he said. “And now I get the opportunity to do it at the high school level. MLC really provided us with some great opportunities and we’ll always be appreciative of that.”