Ronnie Choate to be inducted into GCAA Hall of Fame
11/9/2009 12:00:00 PM | Men's Golf, Women's Golf
Ronnie Choate, currently in his 36th season as head golf coach at Sam Houston State University, is one of seven who will be inducted into the Golf Coaches Association of America's Hall of Fame at ceremonies December 7 during the GCAA's Annual Convention at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Choate started the men's golf program at Sam Houston in 1962, directing the Bearkats to four NAIA national championships and nine conference titles during his 33 years as coach before retiring in 1994.
Choate returned as head coach in the spring of 2008 and directed the Bearkats to a runner-up finish that spring. His 2008-09 Bearkat squad won five intercollegiate tournaments and sent an individual player to the NCAA Division I regional for only the six team in Sam Houston history.
The honorees include four retired coaches and three still actively running programs. Also being honored by the GCAA with Choate are Maxie Boles, O. D. Bounds, Devon Brouse, Steve Loy, Delnor Poss and Ben Thompson
Boles led Central Alabama to national junior college championships in 1990, 1996 and 1997. Bounds is considered the father of the NAIA men's golf championship, serving as coach while working as a professor at Texas Wesleyan from 1946-85. Brouse led North Carolina to 19 NCAA Championship appearances in 21 seasons.
Loy won two NJCAA national titles before moving on to Arkansas (1983-87) and Arizona State (1987-1992). Poss has been the coach at Midland College since the program's inception in 1978, with his teams winning four NJCAA national titles. Thompson was the first golf coach at Yale, where he oversaw the Bulldogs' program from 1926-42, winning five NCAA titles.
"Several of the other inductees are old friends and long time rivals," Choate said. "It is indeed an honor to be included with such an outstanding group of coaches."
Choate has been involved with Sam Houston athletics most of his life. He ranks as the "winningest" quarterback in Bearkat football history, playing on teams that produced a 25-13-1 record from 1956 to 1959. He served as assistant football coach, worked as a fundraiser, and completed his career as director of athletics from 1992 to 1998.
As golf coach, he directed the Bearkats to consecutive NAIA national championships from 1978 to 1981. He was honored as national coach of the year each of those seasons.
In his final season as golf coach in 1994, Coach Choate and his son, Dean, achieved a rare father/son sweep of the Southland Conference's golf awards as conference "Coach-of-the-Year" and "Golfer-of-the-Year," respectively. Ronnie and Dean Choate also are the only father-son combination who have been inducted into the SH Hall of Honor.
