Dillingham Joining MSU Women’s Hoops Coaching Staff Along with New Strength Coach

(Photo Courtesy: Kelly Price, MSU Athletics)

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI/MSU Athletics) – A new addition and a familiar face are joining the Mississippi State women’s basketball staff this season.

Marci Hoppa joins the Bulldogs as the program’s strength and conditioning coach, while Dominique Dillingham moves from the court to the bench as a student assistant coach.

Hoppa, who comes to MSU from Western Kentucky, will be in charge of the daily strength and conditioning regime for Vic Schaefer‘s program that is coming off a record-setting 34-win season and an appearance in the national championship game.

“I am very grateful for the opportunity here with Coach Schaefer and the Bulldogs,” Hoppa said. “The culture and spirit of this program and the university drew me in, and it continues to excite me for the future.”

She served the past three seasons as Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Western Kentucky. In that three-year span, her development of the Lady Topper players helped the program to an 84-19 record, two Conference USA regular season and tournament titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances.

In her first season in Bowling Green, WKU won a C-USA record 30 games and swept the league titles en route to making the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Toppers compiled 27-7 records her final two seasons, with the 2016-17 squad earning another NCAA Tournament appearance after winning its league regular-season and tournament championships.

“Marci brings a lot of energy. I love her passion, and I really like her knowledge and the importance of what the weight room brings to our program,” Schaefer, State’s sixth-year coach, said. “She really set herself apart in the interview process with all of our administration as well as our strength coaches here on campus. I feel like we hired the right person, and I feel like we’ve added someone to our program that will make us better.”

Prior to joining Western Kentucky, Hoppa was the Director of Strength and Conditioning for Olympic Sports at Jacksonville University. She joined the JU staff in March of 2013 as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, coordinating strength and conditioning for women’s soccer, softball, volleyball, track & field and men’s rowing.

She was named Director of Strength and Conditioning for Olympic Sports in July, 2013, overseeing the JU strength and conditioning internship programs.

Hoppa arrived in Jacksonville, Fla., after serving as a volunteer coach at the University of Alabama in 2012-2013. While with the Crimson Tide, Hoppa assisted with the women’s tennis, women’s rowing, men’s and women’s swim and dive, and women’s volleyball teams.

She made the move to Tuscaloosa following a stint as Graduate Assistant Strength Coach at Northern Illinois, where she worked directly with women’s soccer, women’s gymnastics and men’s and women’s golf while assisting the Huskies’ football and women’s basketball teams. Hoppa also was an intern at the University of Georgia from 2007-2009, where she assisted with women’s volleyball, men’s basketball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track, and women’s gymnastics.

Hoppa earned her bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sports Science in 2009 from the University of Georgia and her Masters in Exercise Physiology in 2012 from NIU.

She is certified with the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coach’s Association (SCCC), the National Strength and Conditioning Association (CSCS), and USA weight lifting (USAW level 1 sports performance coach).

Dillingham joins the staff following a four-year playing career that saw her and fellow seniors Ketara Chapel, Chinwe Okorie and Breanna Richardson wrap their four seasons the winningest class in program history with 111 victories.

“Mississippi State and this program have meant so much to me during my playing career, and I am excited and honored to have the opportunity to continue here as a student assistant coach,” Dillingham said. “Coach Schaefer and the rest of the staff have taught me so much, and I look forward to being able to share what I have learned with the players while continuing to grow my knowledge of the game from a coach’s perspective.”

The Spring, Texas, native and her classmates set the school wins record each of their last three seasons while leading the Bulldogs to the postseason each year, including three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

“I think Dominique has a great knowledge of the game and all that entails,” Schaefer said. “She understood the importance of the little things, and she understood hard work, toughness and all those things that we preach every day. She’s the walking, talking example of that. She’ll be able to share with our players exactly the importance of doing those things from her perspective, not just from a coach.”

Their senior campaign proved to be the best in program history, as MSU set new school standards for overall (34) and SEC (13) wins en route to finishing second in the conference and advancing to the program’s first Final Four.

That 2016-17 Bulldog squad earned the opportunity to play in the title game after knocking off UConn in the national semifinal to end the Huskies’ NCAA-record 111-game win streak. That overtime thriller won Mississippi State the ESPY for Best Upset in July.

Last season’s remarkable run capped a thrilling career that saw Dillingham earn SEC All-Defensive Team honors her senior and junior seasons. She was also named Associated Press All-SEC Honorable Mention in 2015-16.

In addition to being part of MSU’s winningest class, Dillingham capped her time 25^th at State in career scoring with 1,013 points and fourth in steals with 210. A starter in 119 of her 139 games, she paced the Bulldogs with 131 charges taken in addition to averaging 7.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.7 assists.

Season tickets for the 2017-18 campaign are on sale now at hailstate.com/tickets. State hosts Arkansas-Fort Smith in a Nov. 3 exhibition before officially opening the slate Nov. 10 against Virginia as part of a doubleheader with the men’s team.

Tickets for the doubleheader are being sold separately from season tickets for $20 each and can be purchased online or by phone at 1-888-GO-DAWGS.