Auburn head soccer coach Karen Hoppa retires after storied 26-year run

AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn head soccer coach Karen Hoppa is retiring after a historic 26-year run as the program’s leader.

Hoppa led the program to seven SEC Western Division championships, one SEC regular season title, one conference tournament crown and 18 NCAA Tournament appearances. Her 293 wins at Auburn are a program record and her 357 overall wins rank 32nd in Division I history.

“It is with a mix of emotions that I’m announcing my retirement from college soccer today,” Hoppa said. “While I will miss all the excitement of college athletics, I am looking forward to spending more time with my family and moving into a new phase of life. It has been the greatest professional honor to be the head coach at Auburn University.”

In 26 seasons on The Plains, Hoppa compiled a 293-192-60 record with a 357-236-69 in 33 years as a head coach, ranking her in the top 30 among active head coaches. She became the 31st coach in the history of the sport and the ninth female head coach to amass 350 wins at the Division I level with 5-0 win at Samford on Sept. 5, 2024. Hoppa also became one of 20 active head coaches with 300 or more career wins, including 250 or more wins at their current program, with a 1-0 win against Georgia on Mar. 31, 2021.

“I want to thank all of my coaches, all of the support staff and especially all of my players throughout the years,” Hoppa said. “I also want to thank John Cohen, Rich McGlynn, Courtney Gage and Daniel Watkins for providing such tremendous leadership for our soccer program. I look forward to the next head coach building on the foundation we have established for this program.”

Hoppa coached 15 All-Americans at Auburn including 55 All-Region honorees, 77 All-SEC selections, four SEC Players of the Year and four SEC Scholar-Athletes of the Year.

“Karen Hoppa’s incredible success over three-plus decades, including 26 at Auburn, is a testament to the type of coach and leader she is,” Auburn Athletics Director John Cohen said. “Auburn soccer would not be where it is without Karen’s unwavering work ethic and determination. She not only achieved success on the field, but her program was also a model for success in the classroom and community. On behalf of the entire Auburn Family, we want to wish Karen and her family all the best in her retirement.”

Auburn clinched its 28th overall SEC Tournament appearance in 2024, jumping ahead of Florida to become the new league leader in total appearances. This season, she guided the program to a 13-4-4 record and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Earlier in the season, the program peaked at No. 6 in the national polls, the highest ranking in program history.

Hoppa’s teams were a model of athletic success on the field and academic success off the pitch. A consistent postseason entrant, Auburn advanced to the SEC Tournament 23 times, while maintaining one of the highest team GPAs on the Auburn campus, being eligible for the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award on over 19 occasions.

Hoppa also saw five of her players earn College Sports Communicators Academic All-America recognition in Katy Frierson (2010 & 2011), Anna Haddock (2021, 2022), Jenn Johnson (2007 & 2008), Erin Hinson (2003) and Casie Ramsier (2015 & 2016), while Frierson was named the NSCAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2010.

Hoppa has guided the Tigers to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances. By defeating Hofstra, 1-0, in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, the senior class became the first in program history to win a NCAA Tournament match in four straight seasons.

Prior to Auburn, Hoppa served as UCF’s head coach from 1993-1998 and spent 1991-93 as an assistant coach for the Golden Knights. All told, Hoppa spent a total of 12 years at UCF as a student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach.

She led the program to two NCAA tournament appearances as a player, including a trip to the Final Four in 1987, five Trans America Athletic Conference titles and a trip to the 1998 NCAA Tournament as a coach.

Hoppa posted a 64-44-9 record at UCF, winning five TAAC titles including four in a row from 1993-96. In her final season at UCF, Hoppa guided the squad to a 12-8 mark and a perfect 4-0 in the Trans America Athletic Conference en route to the school’s first NCAA Tournament berth since 1991. For her efforts, Hoppa was named TAAC Coach of the Year.

Hoppa has also been very involved in the Olympic Development Program and various youth soccer programs in the United States. Prior to her appointment as the Region III head coach in February 2009, she spent two years as the assistant coach in the same Region