Heidelberg's funny man relives football glory days

Brian Regan, the Heidelberg alum funny man, has hit it big on the comedy stage. But who knew he once had aspirations of gridiron glory – and to this day, he still does?

NFL Films Presents picked up on Brian’s early history as an undergrad at Heidelberg and recently aired a piece on his life before comedy. A native of Miami, Florida, Brian enrolled here to play football. In a 6-1/2 minute segment that aired on Nov. 16, the show featured some of Brian’s standup comedy along with the story of his playing days in high school and college.

A wide receiver for the Student Princes, Brian was leading the NCAA in receptions when an injury ended his playing days. By that time, upon his coach’s recommendation, he decided to switch his major from accounting to communication because he was getting noticed for making people laugh. 

The NFL Films Presents crew reached out to Jeff Garvin, director of Athletic Marketing & Information and Associate Athletic Director, for archival material from Brian’s playing career at the Berg in the late ’70s and early '80s. Jeff found some real gems that appear in the piece.

“One of the challenges for my office is to find ways to connect the present with Heidelberg’s rich history,” Jeff said. “Working with NFL Films Presents was a breeze, and I’m glad their piece on Brian turned out so well.”

Without giving too much away, in the segment Brian watches a black-and-white segment of a Heidelberg vs. Denison game from the Athletics archives that he’d never seen before. It made him a little emotional.

“That was a big part of my life, playing football,” he says in the segment. “So to be able to relive that just for that moment was pretty cool.”

Although he’s known as a comedian, Brian admits that to this day, he longs for one more year of eligibility on the football field.

You can watch the NFL Films Presents segment here.