Bio

Dave Hopkins, a 1986 graduate of nearby East High School and a 1999 graduate of Shawnee State University, will be in his ninth season as the men's golf coach at Shawnee State University in 2024-25.

In 2020, the Shawnee State men's golf program enjoyed its best campaign since the late 1990s, setting new records for lowest 18-hole (282) and 36-hole (569) strokes as a team en route to winning the Roger Merb Invitational. The SSU men also won the SSU Invitational, the Harry Weinbrecht Invitational, the Golden Bear Classic and the Alice Lloyd Invitational while finishing second in the Spring Arbor Invitational and the Randal Sadler Invitational Tournament at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind. Their five tournament victories as a team are the third-most in any season in program history.

Under Hopkins, Shawnee State's men won the SSU Spring Invitational over two consecutive seasons in 2017 and 2018, won the IU-East Fall Tee Off, Kentucky Christian Invitational, and Roger Merb Invitational in 2019, and have nabbed multiple top-three finishes. Hopkins also led SSU's women to their first tournament championship in 2018 with a victory at the Elks via the SSU Spring Invitational.

BJ Knox, Elijah McCarty, and current Shawnee State women's golf coach Holley Hart each won a Medalist honor apiece under Hopkins' direction, while Hart, Knox, Dagan Abdon and Jordan Tieman each obtained Mid-South Conference Player of the Week honors under Hopkins as well. Abdon, Knox, and Tieman were named as Mid-South Conference honorees under Hopkins' watch.

Prior to taking the head coaching reigns at Shawnee State, Hopkins served as the assistant to former SSU head golf coach and Shawnee State Athletic Hall of Famer Roger Merb from 2012 to 2015. He coached two Mid-South Conference honorees as an assistant at the school.

Hopkins, who obtained a bachelor's degree in social sciences at Shawnee State, won five consecutive Southern Ohio Conference (SOC) golf crowns as the head coach of the Notre Dame golf program. In those five seasons, Notre Dame made four trips to the state tournament as a unit, with the Titans collecting a OHSAA State Runner-Up honor as a unit in 1999.  In addition to coaching golf, Hopkins also has continued to serve as a basketball official inside the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) umbrella. As a basketball official, he's refereed eight high school state tournaments, four NAIA Division II Final Fours, and three NAIA Division II National Championship Games. He's also served as an assistant coach for the men's basketball program at Shawnee State.

In addition to coaching golf, Hopkins also has continued to serve as a basketball official inside the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) umbrella. As a basketball official, he's refereed eight high school state tournaments, four NAIA Division II Final Fours, and three NAIA Division II National Championship Games. He's also served as an assistant coach for the men's basketball program at Shawnee State.

Hopkins, who teaches inside the Portsmouth City School District, is married to Gayle Hopkins. They live in nearby Rosemount. Their daugher, Annie, played volleyball at Alderson-Broaddus and later graduated from Marshall. Hopkins has four grandchildren, including Emerson, Enann, Israel and Isiah.