After an unexpected 25 day hiatus, it’s going to be great to hear “Live and direct from the Thomas H. Seither Sports Center here on the campus of Bishop Brossart High School on the Avenue of Champion…in Alexandria, KY!” from our very own Dave Schabell. To bring you up to speed, Schabs completed his last broadcast on December 9, 2023. Two days later, he suffered a knee injury after stepping off of the curb in front of the post office, severing his patellar tendon. Days later, he had a successful surgery, followed by rehab & PT at The Seasons. He returned home on Saturday December 30th and has been working his way back to the broadcast booth.
I’ll admit that when he told me on December 21st that he had his sights set on returning to the microphone on January 3rd, I raised an eyebrow. That would be same reaction if anyone set such a lofty goal for themselves in this situation. But we all know that he’s the definition of “dedication” and he’s planning to reach that goal tonight.
Dave does so much for BBHS community and is a fixture around Mustang athletics. He highlights a wide range of BBHS updates here on this website that he started in 2001, but today, we highlight some of his accomplishments and dedication to our school.
During his tenure, the ’65 Brossart grad has served as head coach to eleven Mustang freshmen teams. He also served a five year stint as Varsity Girls Head Coach from 1986 through 1991 where his Lady Stangs compiled a 99-45 record, including a 26-6 campaign in 1986-87 which ended in the 9th Region Semi-Finals, after winning the school’s very first District Championship. Dave has served under nine Mustang head coaches dating back to Jon Quatman who hired him in 1978.
He is presently the program’s business manager in charge of publicity, the bmustangs.com website, Fund-Raising, Anchors the Meridix Webcast Team, edits the Program’s Media Guide and serves as Traveling Secretary when the Mustangs are on the road.
Schabell was elected to the 10th Region Hall of Fame in the spring of 2009; was inducted into the Northern Kentucky Athletic Director’s Association Hall of Fame in October, 2009; the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame in November of 2009; and was inducted into the Brossart High School Athletics Hall of Fame in March of 2016. In 2019 Dave was elected to the Northern Kentucky Coaches Association’s Court of Honor. In March of 2022, he was inducted into the NKBBCA Court of Distinction. He turns 77 in June of 2024, but is still going strong.
In 2022, The Munninghoff Family bestowed the honor of naming the drive into the MAC after Schabell for his countless years of service to Bishop Brossart and this community.
We wish him well on his continued progress with his knee rehab and know that he’ll be back to normal very soon!