Dave Coppock retired in June of 2017 after his 28th season as head coach of both Yellowjacket cross-country teams and eighth season as the MSUB track and field head coach since the program returned during the 2008-2009 season.
In the spring 2017 season, Coppock coached Sam Zook to the NCAA Division II Championships, where the sprinter became the first male outdoor All-American in MSUB history.
Coppock coached seniors Della Lyle and Robert Peterson to the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in 2015-16, where Lyle became the first female All-American in MSUB’s track & field history.
Under Coppock’s guidance, Peterson also competed in the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, after reclaiming his title as the GNAC Mile Champion and helping MSUB’s distance medley relay team to the GNAC indoor title as well.
A former cross-country and track runner at the University of Northern Iowa and University of Montana, Coppock has produced 39 all-conference runners in both cross country and track. He has coached 36 NCAA DII National Track & Field Championships qualifiers, and eight total All-Americans. From his track and field teams, he has produced 13 conference champions.
He has also had multiple NCAA DII all-region track performers, including Lyle and Peterson in 2015-16. In distance running, Coppock has coached two former cross-country runners (Sarah Graves and Heidi Reider Schuette) who became U.S. Olympic marathon trials qualifiers.
Under Coppock’s guidance in 2014-15, junior Robert Peterson became the first-ever Yellowjacket to earn a spot in the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. He also earned USTFCCCA All-American honors after finishing 10th in the mile at the 2015 Indoor Championships.
The Yellowjackets also hosted the 2014 and 2016 NCAA Division II Cross Country West Region Championships at Amend Park in Billings. More than 30 teams from across the region competed in the event.
In 2013-14, under Coach Coppock’s direction, the men’s and women’s track and field teams produced a record number of all-conference and GNAC champions. At the GNAC Indoor Championships, sophomore Robert Peterson ran a meet record in the men’s 1500m to win the conference title. At the GNAC Outdoor Championships, it was senior Chase Robinson who took the men’s 1500 title, with Peterson .37 second behind. Corrie Holm was a conference champion for the women’s track and field team. She won the conference title at the GNAC Outdoor Championships in the women’s discus.
In 2006, the Yellowjacket women won the Heartland Conference Championships and four men and women were named to the all-conference teams. The 2006 women were also ranked as high as 10th in the NCAA South Central Region.
His teams over the years have placed as high as second in the Pacific West Conference (twice) and fifth in the NCAA West Region. Under Coppock's guidance, the Yellowjackets have also been ranked as high as No. 16 in the nation.
In addition to the success Coppock's teams have had on the course, they have also been among the most successful teams in the nation in the classroom. Both the women’s and men’s programs have perennially been named to the NCAA Division II Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic teams and have maintained one of the highest team grade point averages in the nation.
A 1979 graduate of the University of Montana with a degree in geology, Coppock still runs competitively. He was named the 2006 Heartland Conference Women’s Coach of the Year and has been named the Montana USATF Road Racer of the Year two times.
