Rogers State University Athletics

Bobby Cope begins his fourth season behind the bench of the Rogers State women's basketball team after taking over head coaching duties in March 2014.
 
In their first year of postseason eligibility following the completion of the NCAA Division II membership process, Cope’s Hillcats earned a bid to the Heartland Conference Tournament as the seven seed. RSU made the most of the opportunity narrowly losing to No. 2 seed St. Mary’s after leading entering the fourth quarter. The single digit loss became the 10th of the season for the Hillcats as RSU finished with an 8-20 record in the 2016-17 season.
 
In Cope’s second campaign as the head coach, RSU improved by six wins to finish the 2015-16 season with a 14-12 record going 9-9 in the Heartland Conference, its most wins in league play since joining the conference in 2013. The season featured a six-game home winning streak, including a 3-0 start to the conference schedule. Kami Bunch became the second Hillcat under Cope's guidance to earn All-Heartland Conference honors after Mikaila Newton was named to the team in 2014-15.
 
Cope led the Hillcats to an 8-18 overall record in his first season at the helm in 2014-15 going 6-12 in Heartland Conference play. He earned his first collegiate coaching victory Nov. 18, 2014 on the road at Northwestern Oklahoma State in a 55-54 win.
 
After serving as an assistant women’s basketball coach at RSU for five seasons, Cope became the third head coach in the program’s storied history. RSU compiled a 99-60 record (.623 winning percentage) during Cope's tenure as an assistant. The Cats reached the NAIA National Tournament three out of his four seasons on the Hill as NAIA members, including a run to the 2011-12 quarterfinals.
 
Since his arrival, Cope has worked with six Sooner Athletic Conference All-Conference selections and four in the three seasons since joining the Heartland Conference. Cope has also coached two NAIA All-American post players and a NAIA All-Tournament Second Team player in his time at with the Hillcats.
 
In his first three seasons on the Hill as a member of current Nebraska head coach Amy Williams’ staff, the Hillcats made their first appearance in the NAIA Top 25 in 2009-10 while reaching the 20-win plateau for the first time.
 
Cope brought seven years of coaching experience at the high school and collegiate level to RSU upon his arrival in 2009. He spent two years as a graduate assistant coach at Northern State in Aberdeen, South Dakota and also worked as an assistant at Black Hills State in Spearfish, South Dakota, from 2003 to 2005. He coached both football and basketball at Colstrip High School in Colstrip, Montana, from 2005 to 2007.
 
Cope earned a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from Black Hills State and a Masters of Health and Physical Education from Northern State. He is married to former RSU head softball coach, Amy Cope (Renault).