Clarion Athletics

Rich Herman, Clarion’s innovative SID for 35 ½ years (1980-2015), a CoSIDA national leader, Head Baseball Coach and Assistant Baseball Coach at Clarion and was a founding member of the Sports Hall of Fame Committee starting in 1989, joins the Hall as an inductee. Herman came to Clarion in August of 1980 from Edinboro and put together a HOF career. Over the years he promoted hundreds of Athletes to All-America or other honors, including over 100 football All-Americans. He won 19 citations from CoSIDA for award winning publications. Under Herman Clarion was the first NCAA Division I wrestling program to have its matches broadcast live on the web, the first small college school in the East to have in-game computer basketball statistics and the first to have a sports hotline that included wrap-ups of the latest athletic events. In 1999 Herman received the Division I Wrestling SID of the Year Award at the NCAA D-I Nationals at Penn State from the National Wrestling Media Association. Herman was the President of D-II Sports Information Directors of America from July 2009 to June 2011 after serving as the organization’s First Vice-President for three years (July 2006 - July 2009). As President of D-2 he worked directly with NCAA President Mike Racy & COSIDA Executive Director John Humenik to expand and fund the CoSIDA Academic All-America awards program nationwide, while producing the first NCAA D2 Model Strategic Communications Document approved by the NCAA. In 2011 Herman was inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame (including Division I), plus received the Warren Berg Award (top D-2 SID). In 2012 he received the Bob Kenworthy Community Service and in 2016 the Lifetime Achievement Awards from CoSIDA. Proud Clarion baseball coach from 1989-99 and assistant coach from 1981-87, he had players like Brad Frazier (HOF- 2006) that won individual NCAA,  PSAC and Clarion titles and of course the 1984 PSAC-West Championship team that finished 2^nd in the PSAC with coach Barry McCauliff. Also the PSAC Football SID from 1985-93, he served two terms on Clarion Borough Council (2001-2009) and gave official testimony in 2008 to the PA. House Committee on Government in reference to PA. Borough non-taxable properties. A 2018 Lawrence County Sports HOF Inductee, he is a native of Ellwood City, Pa, a 1972 graduate of Lincoln High and a 1976 graduate of Point Park University. He and wife Paula live in Clarion.