MSUB Hall of Fame
A legendary figure in the Billings running community, Dave Coppock is forever tied to the history of cross country and track & field at MSUB. Coppock arrived as a volunteer assistant in 1989, and assisted in the founding of the cross country as a sponsored sport at MSUB. He was the first head coach of the program, helping build both the men's and women's programs from the ground up. He would also be pivotal in reviving track & field at MSUB, helping reintroduce the program for the 2007-2008 season. Coppock would be a key figure in spearheading the effort to bring the NCAA DII West Region Cross Country Championships to Billings, helping the department host it's first ever Division II regional event when the department won the rights to host in 2014 for the first time. MSUB would also play host in 2016 under Coppock's tenure, and has gone on to host three more times in the past eight years (2018, 2022, 2024), where Coppock has continued to assist in the operation of the meet. Since stepping back from coaching, Dave and his wife Renee created the Dave and Renee Coppock Track & Field Cross Country Endowed Scholarship, starting with a groundbreaking $50,000 donation to attract and retain student-athletes in both programs, with the goal to grow the endowment to $100,000.
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Under Coppock's guidance, MSUB produced 32 all-conference track performers, five all-region runners in cross country, 17 NCAA DII National Track & Field provisional qualifiers, two automatic qualifiers, and two NCAA appearances, ten conference champions, and a pair of U.S. Olympic marathon trial qualifiers. Both the men's and women's track teams produced a record number of all-conference and GNAC Champions during his tenure, along with a women's team championship in 2006 when MSUB was a member of the Heartland Conference. Coppock's teams over the years have placed as high as second in the Pacific West Conference (twice) and fifth in the NCAA West Region, along with having been ranked as high as No. 16 in the nation.
