Robert Vogt Larsen (June 9, 1931 – December 23, 2019) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Carroll College—now known as

Carroll University Carroll University is a private university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Established in 1846, Carroll was Wisconsin's first four-year institution of higher learning. History Prior to its estab ...

— in

Waukesha, Wisconsin Waukesha ( ) is the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Its population was 71,158 at the 2020 census. The city is adjacent to the Village of Waukesha. History The area tha ...

in 1977 and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

from 1980 to 1982, compiling a career college football coaching record of 7–28–1. Larsen was also the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

at Carroll from 1977 to 1980 and Chicago from 1980 to 1983. He played college football at Carthage College in

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...

and coached

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

as a number of schools in the state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Early life and playing career

Larsen attended Austin High School in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where he played football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

. He moved on to Carthage College in

, where he played college football. Larsen later earned a master's degree from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

Coaching career

Early coaching career

Larsen began his coaching career at the high school level in the state of

. He coached at Barneveld High School in Barneveld, Kendall High School in Kendall, Monroe County, and Mount Horeb High School in

Mount Horeb Mount Horeb (Hebrew: ''Har Ḥōrēḇ''; Greek in the Septuagint: ; Latin in the Vulgate: ') is the mountain at which the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by Yahweh, according to the Book of Deuteronomy in the Hebrew Bible. It is describe ...

. In 1963, Larsen was hired as head football coach at Hartford Union High School in

Hartford, Wisconsin Hartford is a city in Washington and Dodge counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 14,223. All of this population resided in the Washington County portion of the city. The portion of the cit ...

Carroll

In June 1977, Larsen was hired as the athletic director and head football coach at Carroll College—now known as

—in

. He served as head football coach at Carroll for one season, in 1977, compiling a record of 4–5, before he was replaced by Mark W. Williams. Larsen remained as Carroll as athletic director and assistant football coach until 1980.

Chicago

In 1980, Larsen became the head football coach and athletic director at the

. In three seasons as head coach of the

Chicago Maroons football The Chicago Maroons football team represents the University of Chicago in college football. The Maroons, which play in NCAA Division III, have been a football-only member of the Midwest Conference since 2017. The University of Chicago was a foun ...

team, he compiled a record of 3–23–1.

Later coaching career

In July 1983, Larsen was hired as the head football coach at Campbellsport High School in Campbellsport, Wisconsin. He also taught social studies and coached girls' basketball at Campbellsport. In 1989, Larsen became the offensive coordinator at

Arrowhead High School Arrowhead High School is a high school located in Hartland, Wisconsin. Sitting on of land, the school has two campuses, a north campus and a south campus. Juniors and seniors attend the north campus, while freshmen and sophomores attend the south ...

Hartland, Wisconsin Hartland is a village along the Bark River in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States, that is a suburb of Milwaukee. The population was 9,110 at the 2010 census. Geography Hartland is located at (43.100180, −88.344452). It is in the ...

, serving on the staff of head football coach Tom Taraska. Larsen helped lead Arrowhead to three

Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) is the regulatory body for all high school sports in Wisconsin. Its history dates to 1895, making it the earliest continually existing high school athletic organization in the country. ...

(WIAA) Division I state titles—in 1993, 1994, and 1996—before he retired in 2000.

Death

Larsen died on December 23, 2019, at his home in Fox Point, Wisconsin.

Head coaching record

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larsen, Robert 1931 births 2019 deaths American football quarterbacks Carroll Pioneers athletic directors Carroll Pioneers football coaches Carthage Firebirds football players Chicago Maroons athletic directors Chicago Maroons football coaches High school basketball coaches in Wisconsin High school football coaches in Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Sportspeople from Chicago Players of American football from Chicago Austin Community Academy High School alumni