Dave Larson joined the Beaver coaching staff in 1996 and has been in charge of the running backs for the last six years. Prior to making the switch, he had served as the team’s wide receiver coach and helped coached many of the league's top receivers during that span.
Larson helped coach a First Team All-IIAC running back in 2015 (Dylan Barrett). Barrett ranked second during league play in rushing at 128.6ypg. That's the highest any player has sat for BVU since 2008 and he's the first two average better than 100ypg in at least the last 15 years.
As a team, BVU ranked fourth in the Iowa Conference during league play in 2012 in rushing yards per game (145.9) – the team’s highest average in the previous nine years. It also had an individual ranked in the top-five in rushing, after not having one even in the top-10 during the previous two campaigns.
Before arriving at BVU, Larson was head football coach at South O'Brien from 1988-96. He had a 54-18 record as head coach and was named Northwest Iowa Coach of the Year by NW Iowa Review newspaper for the years 1988, 1989, and 1992. Larson led the club to an undefeated regular season in 1992.
Larson was a 1975 graduate of Dana College in Blair, Neb. At Dana, he was an honor athlete, team captain, and MVP named to the All-Lutheran Team as a senior. He received his master's degree in guidance and counseling from Morningside College and his master's degree in administration from Buena Vista.
Larson is an elementary and middle school guidance counselor at the Storm Lake Middle School. He and his wife, Marjorie, have three children: daughter Jessica, and twin sons, Jon and Taylor, who both played football for four years at BVU.
