San José State University head coaches Sage Hopkins from women's swimming and diving and John Kennaday from men's golf are two of the 152 faculty members the institution is honoring April 12 through 15 during its 22nd annual Faculty Service Recognition.
Each year, San José State honors faculty members that completed 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45 years of service. Click here for Faculty Service Recognition page.
"Congratulations to Coach Hopkins and Coach Kennaday on this professional achievement. They are our longest tenured head coaches at San José State. Coach Hopkins and Coach Kennaday have left lasting positive impressions on many Spartan student-athletes since they been a San José State head coach," said San José State University Athletics Director Marie Tuite.
SAGE HOPKINS – "A SPARTAN THROUGH & THROUGH"
Hopkins came to San José State in 2005 as the interim head coach for the women's swimming and diving program. He was promoted to head coach after the 2006 season. Hopkins is the first and only Spartan women's swimming and diving coach to lead San José State to more than 100 dual meet victories with his career record of 111-46-2. The Spartans won the 2011 and 2012 Western Athletic Conference championships and have 16 consecutive semesters as a College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America team.
"I fell in love with San José State from day one back in the fall of 2005. It's been great to see the program grow. We've got the beautiful new facility now," said Hopkins. "My 15 years here have been a joy, a lot of hard work, a lot of struggle, blood, sweat, and tears, at times. I'm a Spartan through and through."
"One of the things that I learned early on is that student-athletes listen to what the coaches talk about. What the coaches make important, the student-athletes make important. We talk about what it means to be a good Spartan, a good teammate, a student. We take the opportunity to talk about life lessons, and the team does a great job."
JOHN KENNADAY – ALL-AMERICA SPARTAN GOLFER NOW LONG-TIME HEAD COACH
An All-America golfer during his San José State playing days, Kennaday returned to San José State in April 2005 after seven seasons as the Santa Clara University men's golf coach. The 2012 Spartans won the Western Athletic Conference championship and competed in three NCAA Regional Championships in the last 10 years.
Kennaday is in his second year as president of the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), the only current Spartan head coach leading a national coaches organization. His vision for San José State golf is manifested in the 15-acre Spartan Golf Complex at South Campus and the Spartans' annual Western Intercollegiate tournament on national television through a multi-year partnership with GOLF Channel and Topgolf.
"I feel blessed to have the opportunity (to be the head coach). This is a place I love. I just love coming to work every day and doing what I do and, the people I work with. It really doesn't seem like work," Kennaday said.
"I've been a Spartan since 1985. Fifteen years is very special to me. I'd love to double and triple that if I can. … It occurred to me last year that I am the longest tenured coach on the staff. This is 24 years I've been coaching and I can remember how important those veteran coaches were to me when I first came in and first started. I hope I've been able to give back to everybody here as well and serve the greater good."
Hopkins and Kennaday join Tuite, football head coach Brent Brennan, women's basketball head coach Jamie Craighead, deputy director of athletics and senior woman administrator Eileen Daley, academic advisor Jeanine Haldi, assistant athletics director for compliance Jennifer Miller-Heimstead, academic eligibility coordinator Roseanne Oty, video coordinator Doug Osumi, student-athlete success services interim associate director Julie Stansberry, and associate athletics director Lawrence Fan as 2021 honorees for service to San José State University as a faculty or staff employee.
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