Brohms and Lampleys create Trinity reunion at Music City Bowl

NASHVILLE -- Music City Bowl chairman Brad Lampley knows the day he first thought about getting Purdue to make its first trip to Nashville's bowl game: Dec. 5, 2016. Since that day , Lampley has been quietly scheming to bring a Trinity High School reunion this week in Nashville.

"The day Jeff (Brohm) was hired," Lampley said with a laugh. "He called my dad. And I've been on this bowl committee for 15 years so when he told my dad he was headed to Purdue, I immediately thought 'well, Jeff will win there so let's circle Purdue as a team we'll be getting very soon."

Turns out "very soon" ended up being in Brohm's second season after a second consecutive 6-6 season as the three Brohm brothers are still in the process of rebuilding Purdue football.

The Brohm family has a multi-decade connection with the Lampley family through Brad's father, Dennis. As a middle-school athlete, Brad watched in awe as Greg and Jeff Brohm shined as high school football players at Trinity for his father. Jeff Brohm was named Kentucky High School Player of the Decade for the 1980s and was recognized with the Mr. Football honor in 1988.

Both Greg and Jeff Brohm have remained in constant contact with the Lampley family, especially, Dennis, who is in the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame after a 47-year coaching and administrative career. Oscar, the patriarch of the Brohm family still serves as an assistant coach at Trinity. And the strong tie remained through Brian Brohm, who is 14 years younger than Jeff, . Brian was part three Kentucky state championships at Trinity under current head coach Bob Beatty, who replaced Dennis after the senior Lampley retired from coaching.

"The deep connection that people from Trinity have to the school for the rest of their lives is amazing and in my biased opinion, it's unique to any normal high school alumni experience," Brad Lampley said. "I don't honestly know if that has to do with Louisville being this country's biggest small town or the religious aspect of the school or something else. I can't put my finger on it. It's just special."

Brad Lampley says Jeff Brohm attempted to recruit his son, four-star 2019 offensive guard, Jackson Lampley, as Purdue was one of 21 schools who made a scholarship offer to the 295-pound offensive lineman. Jackson Lampley signed this December to play at his dad's alma mater of Tennessee.

In fact, the connection is so broad that before Jeff Brohm decided last month to stay at Purdue and turn down the job offer at Louisville, the Boilermakers head coach placed a call to his high school coach.

"I haven't spoken with Jeff about this specifically but here's what I know about that the Louisville situation. I know Jeff well enough and I know how strong the ties to that city and school can be for a person that in his mind, it was like he was being presented with the Notre Dame and Alabama job," Brad Lampley said.

Lampley said he could relate to the pressure of the pull of the Louisville job as he received hate mail and phone calls following his decision to sign a National Letter-of-Intent with Tennessee in the same Volunteers recruiting class as quarterback Peyton Manning. Lampley is now a partner at the Nashville-based law firm Adams and Reese.

"It must have been like what Bear Bryant talked about when he took the Alabama job," Lampley said. "He said 'Momma called. And when Momma calls, you just have to come runnin'."

Brohm said his connection with the Lampley family runs so deep that he'll sometimes still call Dennis Lampley and ask for advice on a specific aspect of how he's running Purdue's program. Whether it's about an Xs and Os issue on the field or an administrative issue, Dennis Lampley is always eager to take the call.

"Brad Lampley is a great family friend and the Lampley's are great people," Jeff Brohm said. "His dad, Dennis, was a great coach. Probably as far as a lot of the traits that I tried to learn from a coach, my high school coach, was one I took a lot from. He was a great motivator, a guy that loved his players and his players loved him. He did it the right way, loved his school and loved his kids on the team, and like I said in return, they played for him. We're excited to see those guys and I think it will be a lot of fun."

In one of the final on-site practices Wednesday afternoon just two days before the Music City Bowl kicks off (1:30 p.m., ESPN), Jeff Brohm organized a group photo of Trinity folks including Oscar Brohm, all three Brohm brothers, both Dennis and Brad Lampley, Purdue athletics executive Robert Sampson, who worked in and around the Trinity program and Purdue's current star on the field - Rondale Moore.

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Moore, only the third-ever Consensus All-American as a true freshman, is the next generation of Trinity alums shining on a national stage. Moore will get a chance to set more Purdue records in this Music City Bowl matchup vs. Auburn. When the 19-year-old Moore, who led Trinity to its 25th state championship in an undefeated 2017 season, saw Dennis Lampley at Purdue's practice Wednesday, Moore immediately ran over and gave his former athletics director a big hug.

"Rondale Moore has no idea what that meant to my dad," Lampley said. "For Rondale Moore to have an appreciation for the people who built Trinity athletics long before he was even born, is just special from a very special young man. I know they already are but Purdue fans should always be so proud to have a young man like Rondale Moore representing their school."

The full Trinity reunion won't be complete until Friday's game and as a bowl executive, Lampley said he must remain neutral in his rooting interest. However, on practically every other Saturday in the fall the Lampley family in Nashville is happy to enjoy in the success of Purdue football under Jeff Brohm that was shaped at an all-boys, college preparatory high school in the Louisville metro area.

"Here's what I tell people about what kind of guy Jeff Brohm is," Lampley said. "Trinity has a weird logo on its helmet and it represents the hand of God holding a tee. Around the ring of the logo is four words: pride, discipline, loyalty and achievement. Jeff Brohm is the living embodiment of all four of those words. I can tell you that you look at him and those three brothers that Oscar and Donna Brohm raised and you realize what the saying 'good things happen to good people' really means."

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