Former Coe, Cornell AD Bremner remembered for his service to both schools

CEDAR RAPIDS - Perhaps only Barron Bremner could have had lengthy, successful tenures at Coe and Cornell Colleges.

“For sure. Not many people could walk that bridge as seamlessly as Barron did,” Cornell Athletics Director John Cochrane said Monday.

“He's the only person that could do something like that. Just with his personality,” agreed Coe AD John Chandler. “It'd be like being the AD at Iowa, then Iowa State. It couldn't happen. But he did it.”

Bremner died over the weekend at 75. The Knob Lick, Mo., native served Coe and Cornell for 42 years as a teacher, coach and administrator.

A football player and wrestler in the 1950s at the University of Iowa, Bremner served two terms each at Coe and Cornell before retiring in 2001. A memorial service for him is planned March 3 at Coe's Sinclair Auditorium.

“It's just the impact he has had on so many lives on our campus and at Coe,” Cochrane said. “He was a tremendous role model in every way.”

“A legend. An iconic figure, certainly around here. I'm sure it's the same way at Cornell,” said Coe assistant football coach Larry Atwater, who worked under Bremner as the school's head wrestling coach in the 1990s. “A larger than life figure at the Division III level. Like a Bear Bryant. Oh my gosh, just a great human being. I can't say enough about him.”

Bremner began his professional career at Cornell, serving as wrestling coach, assistant football coach and assistant physical education professor from 1959 to 1971. He moved to Coe in 1971, where he spent eight years as the school's AD, head wrestling coach, assistant football coach and chair of the physical education department.

It was back to Mount Vernon from 1978 through 1993, where he was athletics director and head wrestling coach, among performing other duties. From 1993 until his retirement, Bremner was AD and assistant to the president at Coe.

“I'm a fan of both schools and a fan of the teams. Both of them,” Bremner told The Gazette in a 2010 story before a Coe-Cornell dual. “I have a great respect ... (and) great memories from both of them.”

Elected to the NCAA Division III National Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame in 1993, Bremner coached Coe and Cornell to 18 Midwest Conference titles and had a 196-39-3 career dual record.

“I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to work under him for ‘x' amount of years,” Atwater said.

“He just had a presence about him,” said Chandler, who succeeded Bremner at Coe Athletics Director. “He was a great coach and administrator, a real people person. It was just the way he interacted with people ... I learned so much from him, how to treat people. He left such big shoes to fill, but I came into a good situation. The department was in really good shape because of Barron. We were making the transition from the Midwest Conference to the Iowa Conference, and he had handled everything so well.”

Cochrane said in retrospect he was happy Cornell chose to conduct “Barron Bremner Day” last fall. The school brought back former coaches and athletes for a football game at which Bremner was honored.

“That was very, very special to us,” Cochrane said. “There were a number of former athletes and colleagues that chose to come back. I think that was a very meaningful day for him.”