FINDLAY — Over the past 70 years, three generations of the Morrison family have taken their athletic skills to the next level at the University of Findlay.

Carl “Dutch” Morrison, a 1954 Clay High School graduate, was the first, playing basketball for the Oilers.

His son, Brad Morrison, also a Clay graduate and later a Rossford assistant basketball coach, followed, playing for the Oilers his junior and senior seasons, 1990 and 1991.

Brad’s daughter Olivia completed the three-generation trifecta, graduating from Toledo Central Catholic and playing volleyball for the Oilers from 2017-21.

Now, Olivia’s younger brothers, Rossford graduates Ben and Jake, have kept UF in the family. Ben, an All-Ohioan for the Bulldogs, joined the Findlay team last year, but was redshirted as a freshman.

Jake will begin his freshman year playing alongside his brother this year, just like he did at Rossford and for the Ohio Buckets AAU team.

The Morrisons still live in Oregon but have been committed to the Rossford community for years, donating thousands of dollars to the athletic program and Brad even owns a sports bar in downtown Rossford, Danny’s Café.

So, what is their attraction to UF? Too many reasons to count, but let’s start with Ben and Jake, who will be playing for Brad’s former teammate at Findlay, coach Charlie Ernst.

“My association with the Morrison family goes way back,” Ernst said. “I was college teammates with Brad at UF, so we have known one another for over 30 years. He was a very good player and friend.

“While Brad has become a very successful business owner, he has made sure that his two sons, Ben and Jake, developed great work ethics. Both boys are very competitive, hard workers, and great teammates,” Ernst continued.

“I’m excited that they are a part of this program. Brad has instilled the UF experience in them since birth and having players in your program that understand history and Oiler pride is icing on the cake.”

From BGSU to Findlay

Brad ended up at Findlay after playing his freshman and sophomore seasons for legendary NCAA mens basketball coach Jim Larranaga when he was coaching at Bowling Green State University.

Larranaga still coaches today, leading his University of Miami (Fla.) team to the NCAA Division I championship this season.

However, when Brad Morrison arrived at BGSU, he found the level of basketball was over his head. It’s a lesson he tries to carry forward when he is coaching youth and high school basketball today.

“It was Division I,” Brad said. “Coach Larranaga is obviously a hall of fame coach. I was one of those high school kids, and I kind of mentored my AAU kids through this carefully without wrecking their spirit.

“In my mind, I had to be a Division I kid. Well, I don’t think I was good enough to be Division I. So, you go, and you finally get on a team, and you are like, ‘You know what, I want to play and I’m not playing, so what do I do?’”

After BGSU, it was Findlay coach Ron Niekamp who came to the rescue.

“Actually, coach Niekamp was there, and I decided to leave after we played Michigan State at home,” Brad said. “I kind of had enough and went in and told them I was going to transfer somewhere, and coach Niekamp was at the house the next day.”

The oddball roommmate

When Morrison arrived at Findlay, he almost did not hang around because of his roommate.

That roommate and teammate was Brian Vorst, who eventually became Ben and Jake’s head coach at Rossford. Vorst had just arrived to Findlay after leading Kalida to a Division IV state championship, but they did not hit it off right away.

“I loved playing in that brotherhood I developed with Brian Vorst,” Morrison said. “It’s a funny story, I tell this story all the time — I transferred from BG, I go down there, and they stick me in this room with this guy.

“The stick you in a dorm and here is your roommate, and honestly the guy was kind of stand-offish and I said, ‘This isn’t for me, and I came home,’” Morrison continued.

“And I remember my dad looking up from the couch that night and said, ‘You’re going back. You don’t have an option.’

“He sent me back down and I finally got to know that roommate and it was Brian Vorst. It’s funny we had that funny moment and then I would say we’re closer than brothers now. We chose to have all our kids play together. It’s a brotherhood thing.”

Players’ coach

Vorst and Morrison saw Niekamp as a mentor figure who has helped them to this day.

“He was great to play for. He was a players’ coach,” Vorst said. “He would get after you once in a while, but for the most part he allowed you to do your thing.

“As long as you were doing what you were supposed to be doing you were perfectly fine. But he was really supportive as a coach. Not a yeller and a screamer and a tantrum thrower. He was honestly great to play for.”

Morrison added, “He is still a dear friend of mine and mentor for me. It’s weird because Ron follows a lot of players he coached and their grandkids.

“He and his wife always take time to write a note if something good happens. If we win the league or one of the kids signs for school, or when we got to the regionals, you always find a note in the mail from them.

“A couple of times a year you see him and his wife in the crowd at one of our Rossford games. He was a life changer for me — kind of gave me that second chance after I left Bowling Green.”

In 26 years, Niekamp’s teams were 598-185, and the Oilers finished 36-0 during the 2009 NCAA Division II national championship season, which included National Coach of the Year honors for Niekamp to go with his numerous other coaching awards.

Vorst scored 1,324 points from 1990-93, including 491 in 1991-92. His 752 career rebounds are third all-time at UF, and his 9.3 rebounds in 1991-92 are fourth all-time. He also averaged 15.8 points that season. He was NAIA All-District twice.

Transcending basketball

When Vorst and Morrison arrived, Findlay College was an NAIA member but transitioned to the University of Findlay and NCAA D-II while they were there. However, Findlay brings back memories for Morrison and Vorst that transcend basketball.

“We would hang out at a lot of restaurants that Brad’s dad went to,” Vorst said. “We would go in there at times where he would say this is where my dad used to go and stuff like that. For him it is a ton of memories. It’s just neat being a part of that.

“Some of his dad’s old friends down at Findlay kind of took care of us a little bit, so that was kind of neat to reminiscence some of those old times.”

Morrison says those memories may play into why Olivia, Ben, and Jake chose to play college sports there.

“I think your kids hear you talking about that over the years. I think there is a bit of osmosis there,’ said Morrison, who also owns Maumee Bay Turf Center.

“The one thing I told them was, and it is a very strange thing, is that we’ve installed a turf field, we are starting another one in two weeks — a big practice field on campus, and I’ve been out of there since ’91, and there still some of the same faces down there.

“I’ve said all the time that if you love where you work you don’t see people leave. I just think they take care of people down there. I think they have good values and I think people are attracted to that.

“It’s a neat town, it’s got a vibrant downtown, it’s got a Main Street with your mall and all of that. It’s really got the amenities of the big city but you’ve kind of got that small town America feel.

“It is just a good place that you can trust to send your kids, and they do a great job of preparing kids for life down there.

“All the people we graduated there with we are very close. We stay in very close contact and when the smoke clears, it’s the camaraderie. It’s just the little things you remember.”