Now the challenge starts, as he tries to mold his group into a national contender. It’s going to be a challenge, but it’s nothing new to Hoffman, who has already pulled off similar turnarounds at Southern Nazarene and Oklahoma Baptist.

First, as the women’s basketball coach at Southern Nazarene, Hoffman took a team that had never had a winning season and won the 1989 NAIA National Championship in just his second season with the team. In three years at Southern Nazerene he compiled an 88-16 record, and was named SAC, District 9 and NAIA Coach of the Year. He coached two NAIA All-Americans and numerous All-Conference players at SNU.

Then he took on the task of taking over as the men’s coach at his alma mater, Oklahoma Baptist. While there he turned a team that was a sporadic contender, at best, and turned them into national contenders on a yearly basis. It took just two years to reach his goal. After a pair of years building the program, the team produced a record of 34-4 and advanced all the way to the NAIA National Championship game. Hoffman was named Sooner Athletic Conference and District 9 Coach of the Year for his team’s performance. But it was just the beginning.

The following year the Bison again hit the 30-win mark, posting a 30-7 overall record. They again advanced to the NAIA Final Four and defeated Division I school Oregon State. The Bison fell to Brigham Young by just two points on the Cougars home floor. The next two years the Bison posted a combined 57-13 record and advanced to the NAIA Tournament each year. Hoffman was again named SAC Coach of the Year. But the best was yet to come. During the 1996-97 season Hoffman led the Bison to a school-record 36 wins, the SAC Championship and the school’s second NAIA National Runner-up finish. For the second straight season Hoffman was named SAC Coach of the year.

The 1997-98 season saw Hoffman and OBU miss out on the NAIA Tournament for the first time in five years. But in 1998-99, his last season at the helm of the team, the Bison sent Hoffman out in style with a 31-7 record, an NAIA Elite Eight appearance and a tie for the SAC title.

In his nine years at OBU, the Bison advanced to the NAIA National Tournament six times. Twice they finished as NAIA runners-up and Hoffman was named Sooner Athletic Conference Coach of the Year four times. His athletes earned 21 All-Conference honors, 10 were named NAIA All-American, including three first team picks. Two players were named SAC Player of the Year, while two others were named SAC Tournament MVP. After his first two years at the school the Bison never won fewer than 24 games in a season and won 30 or more games four times. He finished his tenure at OBU with a 244-78 record and a winning percentage of .758. During his nine years at OBU, Hoffman’s teams averaged more than 90 points per game and led the NAIA in field goal percentage seven times.

His first coaching job came straight out of college at Piedmont High School in Piedmont, Oklahoma. He was hired as the assistant boy’s basketball coach, but it didn’t take long for Hoffman to take over the big chair. After two years as assistant he was promoted to head coach and led the team to a 79-30 record. He led Piedmont to three appearances in the Oklahoma State Class 3A Tournament, and two trips to the Quarterfinals. Piedmont had never been to the tournament prior to Hoffman’s tenure. He was named Oklahoma City Coach of the Year in 1983. He moved on to the college ranks as an assistant coach at OBU for two years before taking the head women’s job at Southern Nazarene.

Not limited to success on the court, Hoffman has produced numerous players who have been standouts off the floor. At Southern Nazarene, two players were named All-American Scholar Athletes. During his nine years at OBU, Hoffman’s teams had an 87% graduation rate. Four times OBU players were named All-American Scholar Athletes. Prior to his arrival, OBU had never had an All-American Scholar Athlete. This past year Reggie Kuzet, a junior center received numerous academic accolades, including an invitation to the NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference. He was named an All-American Scholar and earned National Dean’s List recognition.

Hoffman also is very well respected in both the Oklahoma and South Texas communities. While in Oklahoma he ran the largest summer basketball team camp in the state. His 1999 camp had over 1,300 participants, more than camps at either the University of Oklahoma or Oklahoma State University. This past year, his first camp at UTPA attracted the most of any camp at UTPA in recent memory.

Hoffman is a 1979 graduate of Oklahoma Baptist, where he was a standout guard and forward for the Bison. A student-athlete at OBU from 1976-79, Hoffman is one of just 30 players to score at least 1,000 points in a career. A native of Oklahoma City, Hoffman is married to the former Kelli Lumry. The couple have one son, Grant, 4.