Hall of Fame
In today’s college athletics world, it is almost impossible to imagine one person handling an athletics department’s two most demanding positions.
But Dave Loos has helped APSU thrive as both its head basketball coach and athletics director. In fact, it is nearly unheard of in the world of NCAA athletics an athletics director also coaching, especially a sport as prominent as men’s basketball–he is the only Division I coach in the country who also holds the title as athletics director.
What is remarkable is Loos, who is the dean of Ohio Valley Conference basketball coaches, also is the longest-serving athletics director at his university–he currently is in his 10th season.
His double duties aptly point out the respect Loos earned both on and off campus. His common-sense approach to the athletics director's duties have been with the same diligence that have been so representative of his APSU basketball tenure. What is even more remarkable is that Loos, who is in his 18th season as Govs head coach, owns the mark for APSU's longest basketball coaching tenure and is the program's all-time wins leader, surpassing Dave Aaron in 2006-07. To honor such achievement, outgoing president, Dr. Sherry Hoppe, at the behest of several longtime basketball supporters, named the basketball floor “Dave Loos Court.”
Such acclaim didn’t happen by accident. Loos not only has elevated APSU's program to the pinnacle of OVC prominence, but has done it as well with the dignity and class so reflective of the reputation he built as an athlete and as a high school/college coach.
Loos, a St. Louis native, came to Austin Peay in Spring 1990 as head basketball coach after serving four seasons at his alma mater, Memphis, as assistant coach.
He has led the Governors to four OVC regular-season titles, including the 2006-07 season, and two NCAA tournament berths. His 2003-04 team went 16-0 in the OVC–one of only four league champions to go undefeated in the OVC’s 60-year history–and last season’s club won the regular season league title by three games, despite starting no player taller than 6-foot-5.
In fact, Loos’ Governors now have gone 15 straight seasons with at least a .500 OVC record. In addition, he has led the Governors to four 20-win seasons, including last season’s 21-12 mark. He also has directed his club to at least the OVC tourney semifinals in 10 of the last 13 seasons. That has sustained his reputation of elevating his club's play during February-March, where the Govs own a .670 winning percentage over the last 12 seasons.
Loos is the only coach in league history to earn five OVC Coach of the Year honors, including 2006-07. In addition, he twice has been named the Tennessee Sportswriters Association College Coach of the Year. He also owns the third most wins in OVC history.
To illustrate Loos’ impact as Governors head coach, Austin Peay owned a 165-207 OVC mark (44.3 percent) from 1963 (the year APSU joined the OVC) to 1990. With Loos at the helm, the Governors had moved well past the .500 mark, entering tonight’s game at 348-322. Loos owns better than a 60 percent winning percentage in OVC play during his 18 seasons.
He is only the second APSU coach to lead the Govs to an OVC regular season co-championship and NCAA Division I tournament berth.
This is the fourth athletics Hall of Fame that has honored Loos. In 1997, he was inducted into the St. Louis Baseball Amateur Hall of Fame—he was a former prep baseball star (Mehlville High School) and American Legion baseball.
In 2002, he was inducted into the University of Memphis (M-Club) Athletics Hall of Fame—he was a two-sport star (baseball and basketball) for the Tigers.
Last spring, he was inducted in the Missouri Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame—he got his basketball coaching career start at his prep alma mater, Mehlville High School.
