Dr. David Larrimore served in the capacity of Director of Athletics at Tennessee Tech for a period of 17 years. His love of athletics and commitment to the success of its student-athletes helped direct Tech through one of its most competitive periods.

In 2006, Larimore was inducted into the Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame.

Larimore steered the athletics program through two of the most productive decades in school history. That included both men’s and women’s All-Sports Championships, despite the university’s comparatively high academic standards. Team successes under Larimore included 33 OVC championships in 11 different sports between 1987 and 2002.

During his tenure as A.D., Larimore not only directed the university’s intercollegiate athletics program, he also took on a leadership role within the Ohio Valley Conference, working closely with Commissioners Jim Delaney and Dan Beebe and state officials to help solidify the league’s Division I status.

Because of Larimore’s dedication to fairness, Tech also received word from the Office of Civil Rights that the athletics program was in complete compliance with all Title IX guidelines. Tech was also ranked third in the nation in gender equity, and won one of four “Opportunity Awards” for gender equity from the Women’s Sports Foundation.

Larimore added women’s soccer as an intercollegiate sport, restarted the women’s track & field program after a 12-year absence, and oversaw the building of the women’s golf and softball programs from fledgling teams into conference champions.

With his connections to the classroom, it was clear that Larimore held a firm commitment toward strong academics among Tech’s student-athletes. During his 17 years as A.D., the university was an academic leader within the OVC, producing 53 Academic All-District winners and 15 Academic All-Americans. The graduation rate for Tech’s student-athletes averaged 14 percent higher than the general student body.