Dave Grube, a 1962 graduate of Northwestern High School and 1966 graduate of Kent State University, built a coaching career spanning over three decades across multiple levels of college basketball. 

His collegiate coaching career began at The College of Wooster (1970-72) as assistant coach to Hall of Fame Coach Al Van Wie, where the team achieved a 21-1 regular season record and NCAA tournament berth in 1970-71 with the help of Hall of Famer Tom Dinger. As head coach at Heidelberg (1972-76), Grube improved a program that had posted a 2-19 record the previous year, leading them to a 9-13 record in his first season and consecutive 13-10 seasons in 1974-75 and 1975-76, the first back-to-back winning seasons in 23 years.

At Capital University (1978-86), Grube compiled a 126-84 record as head coach. His teams secured two Ohio Athletic Conference regular season titles, the 1984 OAC Tournament Championship, and made three consecutive NCAA Division III tournament appearances. The 1981-82 team became Capital's first to reach the Elite Eight after winning the South Regional. During his coaching career with the OAC, the conference featured nine fellow Hall of Fame coaches: Jim Burson, Dick Reynolds, Al Van Wie, Vince Chickarella, Larry Hunter, Steve Bankson, Bill Brown, Gene Mehaffey, and Gale Daugherty. 

Grube earned OAC Coach of the Year honors in 1982-83 and 1983-84, along with the 1984 Kodak Coach of the Year for the Great Lakes Region. His career continued at the Division I level with Kent State (10 seasons total: 6 as assistant, 4 as head coach) and Central Michigan University (7 seasons as assistant). At CMU, he contributed to Mid-American Conference championships in 2000-01 and 2002-03, with the 2003 team defeating #15 Creighton in the NCAA Tournament before losing to Duke in the second round.

Grube finished his head coaching career with a 216-193 record. Prior to his 2025 Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame induction, he was inducted into both the Wayne County Athletic Hall of Fame and the Capital University Hall of Fame.