2017 NIRC Coach of the Year | 2017 Jim Joy Conference Division III Men's Coach of the Year
2024-25 marks head men’s rowing coach Larry Noble's 26th season at WPI. He is also the Director of Rowing and teaches several aquatics classes for the Physical Education Department.
Noble's squad accounted for seven top-three performances throughout the fall of 2023 before logging a ninth-place finish at the New England Rowing Championship and 11th-place showing at the National Invitational Rowing Championships in spring 2024.
The Crimson and Gray posted a pair of fifth place finishes at the Quinsigamond Snake and Wormtown Chase regattas in addition to a 29th- and top-10 performance at the Head of the Charles in the fall of 2022. WPI retained the McCarthy-McGee Challenge Cup with a victory over BC, Coast Guard and UMass as the only boat to finish the course on Lake Quinsigamond in under six minutes on the day. WPI wrapped up the 2023 spring with an eighth- and ninth-place mark at the NERC and NIRC Championships respectively before finished sixth overall at the IRA Division III Championships.
WPI opened the 2021 fall with a sixth-place performance at the Quinsigamond Snake, 32nd-, 18th- and 29th-place performances in two days of action at the Head of the Charles. The Crimson and Gray closed the fall with a 10th place finish at the Wormtown Chase. The Engineers reclaimed the McCarthy/McGee Cup with a win over Boston College while UMass and Coast Guard finished third and fourth respectively. WPI placed seventh in the NERC and 12th in the NIRC regattas before qualifying for the first ever IRA Division III National Championships where the Engineers logged fourth and sixth place finishes throughout the two-day event.
Noble's crew returned to Lake Quinsigamond after a season off due to the covid-19 pandemic and posted wins over Conn College and Coast Guard and a second place finish to Trinity to wrap up a short stint for the 2021 spring campaign.
WPI recorded a runner-up finish at the Textile River Regatta followed by a fourth-place showing at the Quinsigamond Snake Regatta in the home debut for the 2019 fall. The Crimson and Gray crew then posted a 22nd place performance at the legendary Head of the Charles and wrapped up the fall with an eighth place outing in the Wormtown Chase Regatta.
The 2018-19 Engineers excelled at the Head of the Charles in the fall and in the had its spring season highlighted by a pair victories over Bates including a Regatta victory against the Bobcats, RIT and Rochester. In 2017-18, Noble's crews were second at the Textile River and Quinsigamond Snake Regattas in the fall. and once again retained the Class of 2003 Cup, Donahue Cup and Baker Cup during the spring portion of the schedule. The varsity eight made the finals at both New England's and NIRCs.
The 2016-17 campaign was an impressive one for the NIRC Coach of the Year and his team. The varsity eight won the New England Championship and finished third at the National Invitational Rowing Championships, while the freshman four tasted victory at Reading Town Regatta, the lead up to the prestigious Royal Henley Regatta. The varsity eight fared well at both events across the pond by making the Reading finals and earning a spot in the Temple Challenge Cup at the Henley. Noble was later lauded at the Joy of Sculling Coaches Conference as the Jim Joy Conference Division III Men's Coach of the Year.
Over the years Noble's crews have won numerous cups and trophies on Lake Quinsigamond. In 2017 the Engineers retained the Class of 2003 Cup versus Wesleyan, Colby and UMass, the McCarthy/McGee Challenge Cup versus BC, and defeated Tufts to claim the Baker Cup for the 12th consecutive season, to go with a handful of second place finishes. During the fall season, the varsity eight won the Jim Polcari Open Eight Race at the Textile River Regatta and placed fourth to medal at the iconic Head of the Charles.
In 2010 the collegiate four won the Head of the Charles for Noble's first gold medal. At the 2008 New England Championships, four different WPI boats made the grand final in their respective races, and the varsity eight reached the semifinals of the ECAC Championships. A year later in the spring of 2009, the program finished second overall at New Englands and was poised to make a run at the ECACs before inclement weather canceled the competition.
Noble has had the distinction of having four Under 23 World Championship participants on the roster. Hank Moore '11 and Ben Johnson '11 teamed up to finish 12th in the men's pair at the 2010 competition in Belarus, while Moore qualified for the 2011 team in the double sculls. Tobin McGee '10 also helped the lightweight quadruple sculls to a 12th place finish in 2010. John Madura ’11 rowed in the U23 worlds in Lithuania and Elite Worlds in France in ‘15.
During the summer of 2009, Noble and the WPI Crew program went to England to participate in the historic Henley Royal Regatta. During a week of preliminaries, the Engineers competed on the 2012 Summer Olympics course and won the intermediate eight at the Reading Town Regatta. WPI featured an eight, a four and a pair at the internationally-renowned regatta.
Noble's crews have made significant strides during his first decade with the Engineers. The crew program turned from a club sport to a varsity sport upon his arrival. And since the Fall of 1999 (his first season), WPI has jumped from five varsity athletes to a very solid program that now includes 30 varsity members with an additional 30 novice members.
At the 2005 New England Championships, the Crimson and Gray captured the Varsity Four title. Two years later, all five boats made the finals for the first time in the program's history.
Noble came to WPI from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, where he was head crew coach from 1994 through the spring of '99. His boats at Coast Guard earned many medals at the New England's and at the Dad Vail National Regatta. In fact, in his last year at Coast Guard, his varsity eight reached the finals at the Dad Vails. Noble earned his Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in 1984. He then earned a Masters degree in History from the University of Virginia in 1992. He was the freshman crew coach at Columbia from 1985 through 1991. He was the freshman crew coach at Virginia in '91-'92.
