Waterloo School District Athletic Director/Waterloo High School Dean of Students Brian Unger announced this week he is resigning his position to accept the AD role at Freeburg High School.

Unger steps into his new position next month.

“I want to thank everyone for their support over the past three years,” Unger posted in a statement Tuesday on Twitter. “Waterloo is a great place to work with tremendous coaches, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time here.

The athletic department accomplished a lot, and that couldn’t have been done without the help and support of all of you. I have made many great friendships in my time here and will value those friendships forever.”

Unger, previously a first grade teacher at Zahnow Elementary and WHS assistant baseball coach, was hired by the Waterloo school district in April 2020 to serve as AD and WHS dean of students.

“This is my dream job,” he said then. 

He succeeded Mitch North as AD, who accepted a principal/assistant director position at Career Center of Southern Illinois. North had been in his position since 2016. 

A Gibault Catholic High School graduate born and raised in Waterloo, Unger had worked in the Waterloo school district since 2012. 

Prior to coming here, Unger served as head baseball coach at Quincy University, getting promoted up from the pitching coach/recruiting coordinator role. In Waterloo, he has coached seventh grade baseball, sixth grade basketball and been assistant coach/pitching coach for the WHS baseball team. 

In his playing days, Unger went 11-1 as a pitcher during the 1997 season for the Gibault baseball team that went to the state tournament. After high school, Unger played two years at Southwestern Illinois College before transferring to the University of Hawaii at Hilo, a Division I school, then transferred to Quincy for his senior year.

Waterloo Superintendent of Schools Brian Charron offered the following comment upon Unger’s resignation: 

“I’m sad to see that he’s resigning his position. He has been a great asset to our school district and especially our athletic community here in Waterloo for the past three years, and I wish him well in Freeburg,” Charron said. “Freeburg was searching for an athletic director and made Brian an offer he couldn’t refuse.”

Matt Laur had served as athletic director and boys basketball coach at Freeburg from 2015 until recently resigning to take the same positions at Pinckneyville. 

He becomes just the third Pinckneyville boys hoops head coach in 49 years.

Laur succeeds Bob Waggoner, who recently resigned at Pinckneyville after 16 seasons to become the superintendent in Martinsville. 

Laur also will be the dean of students at Pinckneyville.