Dennis Hopson resigns as Lourdes men's basketball coach

Dennis Hopson, a high school basketball standout at Bowsher who went on to a stellar collegiate career at Ohio State before playing five seasons in the NBA, has resigned as men’s basketball head coach at Lourdes University, the NAIA program in Sylvania announced Friday evening.

In a news release, the university said Hopson’s resignation took place in order to pursue other opportunities and was effective immediately. Associate head coach Jake DuPree will serve as interim head coach for the 2024-25 season.

Hopson went 97-41 in five seasons as coach, winning at least 20 games every season except for the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign. He is the winningest coach in the program’s 14-year history.

"I would like to express my gratitude to Dennis for his invaluable contributions to our program, which he leaves in a stronger position than when he arrived,” Lourdes athletic director Jo Ann Gordon said. “His leadership has brought about a significant cultural transformation.”

Hopson joined the Lourdes program in 2019, leading the Gray Wolves to a tie for third place in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference in his first season in 2019-20. That team was ranked as high as 13th in the NAIA Division II national poll.

In 2021-22, Hopson directed Lourdes to its its first WHAC tournament title and a spot in the national tournament in a 24-8 season.

Last season, Lourdes returned to the national tournament after finishing second in regular-season WHAC play. The Gray Wolves finished with a 22-7 record.

"Under his guidance, the program has become a perennial contender in the WHAC and a consistent qualifier for the NAIA tournament,” Gordon said. “We deeply appreciate his service to the greater Toledo community and wish him continued success in all his future endeavors.”

Hopson’s teams had two NAIA honorable mention All-America picks and 10 first-team All-WHAC selections, as well as a WHAC newcomer of the year.