COACH BOB HOFFMAN HONORED BY COLLEGE INSIDER.COM

EDINBURG, TX–The University of Texas-Pan American’s head men’s basketball coach, Bob Hoffman, has been honored.

Hoffman has been named Independent Coach of the Year by College Insider.com, the group that ranked the Broncs as high as 14^th in their Mid-Major Top 25 Poll this season.

Hoffman led the Broncs to their best season in 12 years, as UTPA finished the regular season with a 20-10 record. The Broncs won 12 games at home, the most since the 1993-94 season. Under Hoffman, the Broncs have posted their best three seasons in succession since the 1988-89, 89-90 and 1990-91 seasons.  UTPA also won the championship of the San Juan Shootout, defeating Baylor.

The Broncs are currently ranked 14^th in field goal percentage in Division I, making 48.1 per cent of their shots from the field, and rank 24^th in scoring in Division I, averaging 80.1 points per game. Hoffman is 43-43 in three years at UTPA, and 375-137 overall in a coaching career that has seen him earn national coaching honors twice. Hoffman was named Women’s Coach of the Year by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics while coaching at Southern Nazarene in 1988-89, and was named Men’s National Coach of the Year by Basketball Times while coaching at his alma mater, Oklahoma Baptist, in 1992-93.

“Bob Hoffman is most deserving of this prestigious honor,” said UTPA Director of Athletics William J. Weidner. “Under Coach Hoffman’s leadership, our men’s basketball program has enjoyed one of the truly special seasons in the history of Bronc basketball. In addition to Coach Hoffman’s leadership, this award also recognizes the outstanding contributions of the men’s basketball coaching staff and the student-athletes whose hard work, determination and commitment all contributed to one of the most compelling stories in collegiate basketball this season.”

“I’d like to congratulate Coach (Hoffman) for winning the award,” said UTPA senior guard Mire Chatman (Garland, TX/South Garland HS/Southwestern Christian JC), who was honored previously as Independent Player of the Year by CollegeInsider.com. “It’s a real big honor for him and for our program and the university. I feel that we did a very good job representing the school, and, hopefully, we can get an NIT bid and represent all the independents.”

“It’s always a humbling thing, and it takes a lot of people to have the kind of season we had this year,” said Hoffman. “We did a great job, and the players far exceeded what others thought they could do. I’m excited about the tone they’ve set for the coming years. In addition to the players and coaches, credit also goes to our administration, our fans, and everyone who helped us win games. That’s an award for the basketball community itself at Texas-Pan American.”

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