| Career Accolades |
| • Winningest coach in FHSU program history |
| • Enters 15th season at FHSU with a 312-109 record |
| • Enters 31st year overall with a 725-215 record |
| • 6x MIAA Champion (Regular Season - 2014-15, 2018-19, 2020-21, 2021-22 | Tournament - 2019, 2022) |
| • 3x National Champion at Hastings College (2002, 2003, 2006) |
| • 3x NAIA National Coach of the Year (2002, 2003, 2006) |
| • 3x WBCA Regional Coach of the Year (1999, 2015, 2019) |
| • 7x Conference Coach of the Year (4 MIAA, 2 GPAC, 1 Jayhawk West) |
| • 2x KBCA Women's Four-Year College Coach of the Year (2019, 2022) |
| • Barton County Community College Hall of Fame |
| • Hastings College Hall of Fame |
Tony Hobson enters his 15th season as head coach of the Fort Hays State women’s basketball program in 2022-23. Hobson is one of the most successful collegiate women’s basketball coaches in the nation, entering his 31st year overall with a career record of 725-215 (.771). He is the winningest coach in program history, posting a record of 312-109 in 14 seasons at Fort Hays State (.741).
Through the 2020-21 season, Hobson ranked 32nd amongst all active NCAA coaches and ninth amongst active coaches in NCAA Division II with a four-year college win percentage of .773 (493-145).
The Tigers have qualified for the NCAA DII Championship Tournament seven times over the last eight years, including each of the last five. FHSU has reached the Central Region Championship game three times under Hobson in addition to four MIAA regular season titles and two MIAA Tournament championships.
Hobson has guided Fort Hays State to 13 MIAA Tournament appearances, including nine semifinal appearances, five championship games and two titles in 2019 and 2022. He has now led FHSU to 11 consecutive 20-win seasons dating back to 2011-12, the longest active streak in NCAA DII, after there were just eight such seasons in the first 39 years of program history. He has led the Tigers to a trio of 30-win seasons.
Fort Hays State has seen 48 All-MIAA selections, including nine first-team selections, under Hobson’s guidance. He coached one of the best players in program history, Kate Lehman, who was the BennettRank.com NCAA Division II Player of the Year in 2015. She also earned All-America First Team honors from the WBCA, Daktronics, Division II Bulletin, and BennettRank.com in 2015. Lehman was a four-time All-MIAA honoree, including first team honors her final three years, and a four-time MIAA All-Defensive Team selection, earning Defensive Player of the Year honors her final three seasons. FHSU has had nine MIAA All-Defensive Team selections on Hobson’s watch.
The Tigers reached 30 wins for the fourth time in program history and the third time under Hobson in 2021-22, winning a fourth MIAA regular season title and a second MIAA Tournament title. Hobson's squad won a pair of NCAA Tournament games, reaching the Central Region championship game for the third time. FHSU had five All-MIAA selections, including first team honoree Jaden Hobbs, second team selection Katie Wagner, third teamer Whitney Randall and honorable mention picks Cydney Bergmann and Olivia Hollenbeck. Hobbs went on to pick up All-Region honors from D2CCA while Randall was a second team CoSIDA Academic All-America pick. Hobson was named the KBCA Women's Four-Year College Coach of the Year for a second time.
Hobson helped the Tigers navigate an unprecedented season in 2020-21, leading the team to a 20-2 regular season record that consisted entirely of conference games. The Tigers tied the league record for MIAA wins in a season while winning the regular season title for the third time. FHSU advanced to the conference title game before playing in the Central Region semifinals, ultimately finishing the season with a 22-4 record. Jaden Hobbs was a WBCA All-America honorable mention selection, while Hobbs and Whitney Randall were both first team All-MIAA selections. Olivia Hollenbeck and Cydney Bergmann were both honorable mention All-MIAA picks with Bergmann also picking up All-Defensive Team honors. Randall was also named the MIAA Women's Winter Student-Athlete of the Year.
Hobson guided the Tigers to their third-consecutive trip to the NCAA Central Region Championship after the 2019-20 season. FHSU turned in a 23-7 record, finishing 13-6 in MIAA play and reaching the MIAA semifinals for the seventh time. The Tigers were ranked as high as fifth in the WBCA Coaches Poll and third in the D2SIDA Media Poll. Three Tigers earned All-MIAA honors, including second-teamer Kacey Kennett, Jaden Hobbs on the third team and Belle Barbieri receiving honorable mention status.
Hobson and the Tigers posted the best season in the programs NCAA Division II era in 2018-19 after winning both the MIAA regular season and tournament titles. FHSU finished the year 32-2, the most wins since the team joined the NCAA and the second-most in program history. The Tigers finished the season ranked fifth in the WBCA Coaches Poll, their best-ever finish in the DII era. FHSU was ranked as high as No. 3 in the coaches poll while reaching the top spot in the D2SIDA Media Poll. Five players earned All-MIAA status for the third time in the last four seasons, including the MIAA Player of the Year in Tatyana Legette. Hobson was named Coach of the Year by the MIAA for the third time, earned WBCA Central Region Coach of the Year honors while being a finalist for National Coach of the Year and was honored as the KBCA Women's Four-Year College Coach of the Year.
Hobson led the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years in 2017-18, earning his third NCAA Tournament victory before falling to eventual National Champion Central Missouri. The Tigers also reached the MIAA Championship game for the second time in history. The Tigers finished the season 26-7, compiling 20-plus wins for the seventh-straight season and totaling the third-most wins in program history. Five players were named All-MIAA.
Fort Hays State defeated a top-ranked team for the second year in a row in 2016-17, knocking off then No. 1 Emporia State (12/10/16). The Tigers advanced to the MIAA tournament for the sixth year in a row, moving on to Kansas City after a first round win over Missouri Southern. FHSU finished the season 22-8, recording the sixth-consecutive 20-win season, the longest such streak in program history.
The Tigers reached the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year in 2015-16, making it to the Central Region Quarterfinal round. The team picked up the No. 1 ranking in the WBCA Coaches Poll for the first time in program history midway through the season after defeating then No. 1 Emporia State (12/5/15), the first Tiger victory over a top-ranked team since joining the NCAA. In addition, Hobson picked up his second-straight MIAA Coach of the Year award.
Hobson guided the team to a record of 30-4 overall and the program's first MIAA Regular Season Championship in 2014-15. Fort Hays State hosted the Central Regional of the NCAA Tournament as the region's top seed and reached the Central Regional Final. It was the furthest Fort Hays State had ever advanced in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers reached the No. 2 ranking nationally during the regular season and finished at No. 8 in the final poll. Hobson earned MIAA Coach of the Year honors in 2015 for guiding FHSU to its first MIAA title. He was named WBCA Central Region Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the National Coach of the Year.
In 2013-14, Hobson hit two career coaching milestones, surpassing the 500-wins mark for a career, and winning his 100th game at FHSU. On Dec. 7, 2013, Hobson recorded his 500th career win in the 67-53 victory at Missouri Western. Hobson picked up his 100th win at FHSU in the regular season finale, a 55-39 victory over Northeastern State on Feb. 28, 2014.
Hobson owns three NAIA National Championships as a coach, all collected in seven years as head coach at Hastings (Neb.) College. Hobson won back-to-back NAIA National Championships in his first two seasons (2001-02 & 2002-03) as head coach at Hastings and led the school to another National Championship in 2005-06. He was named NAIA Coach of the Year three times, all for the national championship seasons. The championship in 2001-02 was the first basketball championship at any college level, men or women, in the state of Nebraska. Hobson was an associate head coach at Hastings in 2000-01, hired a year early to take over the program the following year. He is a member of the Hastings Athletic Hall of Fame as both an athlete and coach, along with the three national championship teams he coached. He also received the Outstanding Alumni Coach Award from Hastings.
Hobson’s teams reached the 30-win plateau in five of his seven years as head coach at Hastings College. The 34 wins recorded by the 2001-02 team are the most wins ever for a women’s basketball team in the state of Nebraska. His teams qualified for the NAIA National Tournament all seven years and reached the Final Four in five of the seven years. He led Hastings College to Great Plains Athletic Conference regular season championships in 2004, 2006 and 2007 and conference tournament championships in 2002, 2003 and 2007. In his time at Hastings College, Hobson accumulated a record of 211-40.
Prior to his stint at Hastings College, Hobson was head women’s basketball coach at Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kan., from 1997-2000. At BCCC, he accumulated a record of 78-22 in three seasons, guiding the Cougars to a KJCCC West Division Championship and Region VI Final Four appearance in 1998-99, and a Region VI Championship and fifth place finish at the NJCAA National Tournament in 1999-2000. The 1999-2000 team set a school record for wins in a season (34).
Hobson began his collegiate coaching career as the head coach of the Cloud County Community College women’s basketball program from 1983-1989, where he compiled a record of 124-44 in six seasons. He guided the Thunderbirds to the Region VI finals in 1984-85 and 1985-86.
As a player, Hobson was a two-time all-conference and All-District 11 selection for Hastings College in 1980 and 1981. He played two seasons at Barton County Community College prior to the two years at Hastings College, garnering all-conference and all-region honors in 1979.
Hobson earned an associate’s degree from Barton County Community College in 1979 and a bachelor’s degree from Hastings College in Business Administration in 1981. He earned a master’s degree in Sports Administration from the United States Sports Academy in Mobile, Ala., in 1989.
A native of Hardy, Neb., Hobson resides in Hays with his wife Becky. The couple has two children, Samantha and Cash, who both played golf at FHSU.
Hobson Year-by-Year Breakdown
| Year |
School |
Overall |
Conference |
Postseason |
| 1983-84 |
Cloud County CC |
24-3 |
|
|
| 1984-85 |
Cloud County CC |
23-3 |
|
Region VI Finals |
| 1985-86 |
Cloud County CC |
16-12 |
|
Region VI Finals |
| 1986-87 |
Cloud County CC |
20-7 |
|
|
| 1987-88 |
Cloud County CC |
22-9 |
|
Region VI First Round |
| 1988-89 |
Cloud County CC |
19-10 |
|
|
| 1997-98 |
Barton County CC |
15-16 |
9-7 (4th) |
Region VI First Round |
| 1998-99 |
Barton County CC |
29-2 |
15-1 (1st) |
Region VI Semifinals |
| 1999-00 |
Barton County CC |
34-4 |
14-2 (1st) |
Region VI Champions, NJCAA National Tournament 5th place |
| 2001-02 |
Hastings College |
34-3 |
13-3 (2nd) |
GPAC Champions, NAIA National Champions |
| 2002-03 |
Hastings College |
33-5 |
13-3 (2nd) |
GPAC Champions, NAIA National Champions |
| 2003-04 |
Hastings College |
31-4 |
16-2 (1st) |
GPAC Semifinals, NAIA Semifinals |
| 2004-05 |
Hastings College |
24-9 |
14-4 (4th) |
GPAC Semifinals, NAIA First Round |
| 2005-06 |
Hastings College |
31-6 |
16-2 (T-1st) |
GPAC Semifinals, NAIA National Champions |
| 2006-07 |
Hastings College |
28-7 |
14-4 (T-1st) |
GPAC Champions, NAIA Quarterfinals |
| 2007-08 |
Hastings College |
30-6 |
15-3 (3rd) |
GPAC Semifinals, NAIA Semifinals |
| 2008-09 |
Fort Hays State |
12-16 |
8-12 (7th) |
MIAA Quarterfinals |
| 2009-10 |
Fort Hays State |
15-13 |
8-12 (7th) |
MIAA Quarterfinals |
| 2010-11 |
Fort Hays State |
12-14 |
9-13 (9th) |
|
| 2011-12 |
Fort Hays State |
20-9 |
12-8 (5th) |
MIAA Quarterfinals |
| 2012-13 |
Fort Hays State |
22-7 |
12-6 (T-5th) |
MIAA Semifinals |
| 2013-14 |
Fort Hays State |
21-8 |
12-7 (5th) |
MIAA Semifinals |
| 2014-15 |
Fort Hays State |
30-4 |
18-1 (1st) |
MIAA Finals, NCAA Central Region Finals |
| 2015-16 |
Fort Hays State |
25-6 |
18-4 (T-2nd) |
MIAA Semifinals, NCAA Central Region Quarterfinals |
| 2016-17 |
Fort Hays State |
22-8 |
12-7 (6th) |
MIAA Quarterfinals |
| 2017-18 |
Fort Hays State |
26-7 |
14-5 (3rd) |
MIAA Finals, NCAA Central Region Semifinals |
| 2018-19 |
Fort Hays State |
32-2 |
18-1 (1st) |
MIAA Champions, NCAA Central Region Finals |
| 2019-20 |
Fort Hays State |
23-7 |
13-6 (T-4th) |
MIAA Semifinals, Selected to play NCAA Central Regional before cancelation |
| 2020-21 |
Fort Hays State |
22-4 |
20-2 (1st) |
MIAA Finals, NCAA Central Region Semifinals |
| 2021-22 |
Fort Hays State |
30-4 |
19-3 (T-1st) |
MIAA Champions, NCAA Central Region Finals |
| Total |
30 seasons |
725-215 |
MIAA - 193-87 |
|
Career Totals
| Year |
School |
Record |
Pct. |
| 1983-89 (6 seasons) |
Cloud County CC |
124-44 |
.738 |
| 1997-00 (3 seasons) |
Barton County CC |
78-22 |
.780 |
| 2001-08 (7 seasons) |
Hastings College |
211-40 |
.824 |
| 2008-Present (14 seasons) |
Fort Hays State |
312-109 |
.741 |
| 30 Seasons |
Career Total |
725-215 |
.771 |
