Dave Loos, an iconic figure in Austin Peay State University and Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) history, left a lasting mark throughout his 26-year tenure at Austin Peay and 30-year head coaching career.
Loos played baseball and basketball at Memphis State and spent the 1969 season as a graduate assistant for the Tigers before taking his first head basketball coaching job at Colonial Junior High School in Memphis. He then became the head basketball coach at his alma mater, Mehlville High School, and then Christian Brothers University.
Loos served as an assistant basketball coach for Memphis State for several seasons before being named head basketball coach at Austin Peay State University in 1991. At Austin Peay, he immediately transformed the program, instilling a culture of winning and guiding the governors to their first winning season in three years.
Loos served as head coach for the Governors from 1990-2017, where he amassed 420 wins and remains the only coach to be named OVC Coach of the Year five times. Under his leadership, the Governors captured four OVC Tournament Championships, the most in conference history by a single coach.
Loos’s impact extended beyond the basketball court. From 1997 to 2013, he served as head coach and athletic director at Austin Peay. His dedication and leadership earned him the respect of the university community and the broader athletics landscape.
Both triumph and challenge marked Loos’s final season. He led the Governors to a fourth OVC Tournament championship in March 2016, but his health became a concern later that year. During the 2016 offseason, he underwent surgery for colorectal cancer and began chemotherapy shortly after that. Loos stepped down as head coach in March 2017 to focus on his health.
Loos’s legacy lives on at Austin Peay. The basketball court was named Dave Loos Court in 2007, a symbol of his enduring contributions and successes at the University. His impact on the program and the conference will continue to resonate, inspiring respect and admiration for years to come.