2026 Inductee Dave Gruber

As we begin 2026 we are recognizing each of our Hall of Famers with short bios put together by some of our esteemed alumni and spearheaded by fellow Hall of Famer Kurt Kuhn.  Today we recognize Dave Gruber(VT Asst Coach '76-'77, Head Coach '78-'80).

Dave Gruber started playing lacrosse as a Junior at Oceanside High School on Long Island, NY, in 1963. He acquired basic stick handling skills using a left-handed wooden stick crafted and signed by a Canadian Indian. Gruber played as a defenseman in high school and at New England College in New Hampshire.

After college, Dave became the JV Lacrosse Coach at Hempstead High School. While teaching science and coaching, he pursued a Master of Science degree in Marine Science. After moving to Texas A&M University to work on his doctorate, Dave found himself engulfed in a lacrosse-less state. So, he brought more than just a few lacrosse sticks and other equipment from New York to College Station. After that, lacrosse started to grow exponentially in Texas. Today, Dave is known as the Father of Texas A&M Lacrosse and is a Co-Founder of Texas Lacrosse and the SW Lacrosse League. In addition, Dave is a member of the Texas A&M Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Gruber (aka “Grube”) moved to Blacksburg in 1975 to serve on the staff at Virginia Tech as a Senior Research Associate. He began helping Coach Joel Nachlas in 1976. In 1978, he was asked to serve as Head Coach. He remained in that role for several years.

In 1979, Dave started the annual tradition of the Va Tech Men’s Lacrosse Alumni Weekend, which included the Alumni Game where the alumni challenged the players of the Va Tech men’s lacrosse team. It was followed by an awards banquet. This was a tradition that continued for over 30 years. After coaching, Dave became the senior VT Men’s Lacrosse Alumni Coordinator for over a decade.

In 1980, he founded his company, Biological Monitoring, Inc., an environmental consulting firm from where he continues to work on issues important to him while continuing his support of lacrosse in Blacksburg and in College Station.