About Coach  Kropp
	Named on of Nebraska's 50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century by Sports Illustrated
	Drafted by the NBA (Washington Bullets) and the NFL (Pittsburgh Steelers)
	Played in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls and Washington Bullets; also a long career in Belgium
	Holds doctorate in educational administration from the University of Nebraska
	Enters 2008-09 with 390 career wins

        Tom Kropp, one of the greatest athletes ever in the State of Nebraska, has become one of the most respected coaches in the nation.

            In 2004, Sports Illustrated named Kropp as one of Nebraska’s ten greatest sport celebrities among such notable names as Andy Roddick, Ahman Green, and Jay Novacek. 

            The magazine cited Kropp’s leadership in leading his Alma Mater to a 72.4 winning percentage over the past 16 seasons, as well as his accomplishments as a two-sport athlete, drafted by the N.B.A., the A.B.A., and the N.F.L. 

            Four years earlier, Sports Illustrated had already selected him as one of Nebraska’s 50 greatest athletes of the 20th century. 

            Also in 2004, Kropp was honored as the Grand Marshal of the Shrine Bowl Parade and celebrity guest of the football game, an honor whose previous two recipients had been Johnny Rogers and Gayle Sayers. 

            More recently, in the Fall of 2005, the Omaha World Herald, listing the 100 greatest athletes in the 125-year history of Nebraska sports, rated Kropp in the top ten, ranking him in the company of Bob Gibson, Grover Cleveland Alexander and Richie Ashburn, all Major League Baseball Hall of Fame inductees. 

            Commenting on Kropp’s selection, the World Herald wrote, "He once had 41 points at halftime of a high school game that his team won, 90-85.  He averaged 33 points and 23 rebounds and rushed for over 1,000 yards in football his senior year. He threw a no-hitter in the state junior Legion baseball championship and in track he won the all class gold medal in the shot put; his discus throw of 182 feet 10 inches ranked as the fourth longest throw in the United States in 1971."

           Finally, Kropp became Nebraska's first inductee into the National High School Athletic Hall of Fame with his induction in the summer of 2008. Kropp attended an awards ceremony in Washington D.C. in July 2008.

            The 2007-08 season marks Kropp’s 28th year as a member of the Kearney State College/University of Nebraska at Kearney men’s basketball coaching staff.  He served as a graduate assistant for two years (1977-79) and an assistant for seven years (1983-1990).

            From 1990-96 he was co-head coach with Jerry Hueser, and the duo posted a 111-60 record. Kropp was then the head coach of UNK from 1997-06, leading the Lopers to an impressive 215-60 record. 

            In 2005-06, he and Kevin Lofton were named co-head coaches of the UNK program. Lofton will also succeed Kropp as head coach at some future date.

            Kropp will begin the 2008-09 season as the third winningest head coach (390-148) of the 273 Division II schools that field a men’s basketball program. 

            The Lopers have won more than 20 games in 11 of the last 13 years, qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 10 of the last 13 years, have made three "Sweet Sixteens", and one "Elite Eight" while compiling a winning record in the NCAA tournament. 

            Only one other school in Division II can lay claim to similar accomplishments: the University of Southern Indiana. And in the last 12 years, Kropp has been named the RMAC Coach of the Year four times.

            Additionally, both the Omaha World Herald and the Lincoln Journal Star have tabbed Kropp as the state’s College Coach of the Year, and he has been named Coach of the Year for the North Central Region.

            As a college athlete, Kropp played football and basketball at Kearney State College from 1971-1975, and was selected in both sports to the N.A.I.A. All- American team. 

            He was named twice to the Academic All-American basketball team, and was also named the Nebraska State College Athlete of the year at the end of both his junior and senior seasons. 

            Kropp is the only player in school history to average a double double over his career (20.7 ppg, 11.2 rpg). He currently ranks second in career rebounds (1,022), and is fifth in scoring (1,884) and steals (169).

            As a senior, Kropp tallied a school record 51 points in a loss to Central Missouri, a record that still stands today.              

            During his four years as a basketball player at KSC, Kropp guided the Lopers to a 67-30 record.

            Following his collegiate career, Kropp was drafted in the eighth round by the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, in the third round by the ABA’s Denver Nuggets, and in the third round by the NBA’s Washington Bullets. He signed with the Bullets and was traded to the Chicago Bulls after his rookie season. He completed his second season with Chicago, but was waived after one game of his third season in the NBA. 

            He culminated his playing career in Belgium from 1979-1983; he never averaged less than 30 points per game in any of the four seasons of professional basketball overseas.

            Since his retirement from playing, Kropp has been honored as the Nebraska State College Athlete of the Century, Nebraska’s All-Time Greatest Athlete for the decade of 1970-1980, and has been inducted into the NAIA, the Nebraska Football and the Nebraska High school halls of fame. 

            Prior to his collegiate career, Kropp was a four-sport athlete at Aurora High School, and was named the State High School Athlete of the Year in 1971. The Nebraska Shrine Bowl honored him as one of the top 25 football players in Nebraska High School history, and the Omaha World Herald selected him as one of the top five basketball players in Nebraska High School history.

            On the academic level, Kropp has kept close ties to his Alma Mater as well. In 1979, he returned to Kearney State College as a graduate assistant while earning a Masters Degree in Education. In 1983, he joined the faculty in the Department of Physical Education. Kropp, who holds a Doctorate in Educational Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln since 1989, teaches related courses in the College of Education.

            He and his wife, Sonja, an Associate Professor of French and Chair of the Department of Modern Languages at UNK, have a 16-year old daughter, Dominique.