Ronnie Choate, who served as Sam Houston State’s interim men’s and women’s golf coach this spring, has been named as head coach for the two programs for the 2008-09 season, Director of Athletics Bobby Williams has announced.
Both the Bearkat men’s and women’s golf squads were runners-up in the 2008 Southland Conference standings. The second place finish was the highest for Sam Houston men’s golf since the Bearkats won the men’s title in 1994 when Choate also was head coach.
Choate started the men’s golf program at Sam Houston in 1962, directing the Bearkats to four NAIA national championships and nine conference titles.
“The University deeply appreciates Ronnie Choate stepping in to help keep our golf program on course this spring,” Williams said. “Now, as head coach for the coming year, he will help stabilize the program. Ronnie started golf at Sam Houston and directed the team to both regional and national success. He cares deeply about its future.”
During the spring, Sam Houston freshman Scott Kelly won the Southland Conference individual medalist champion and was selected as SLC “Freshman of the Year.” For the women’s team, Jennifer Heinz was Southland individual runner-up and was named SLC Women’s Golf Student-Athlete of the Year.
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 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.
“I was happy to help out the program this spring and am excited to continue working with the quality student-athletes involved in the golf program,” Choate said. “Obviously, after helping give birth to this program, it is special to me. I felt a special responsibility to the talented freshmen we signed this year. Our goal is to bring this golf program back to a high level of success both competitively and monetarily.”
Choate earned league coach-of-the-year honors 13 times in three conferences. He coached 21 All-Americans. His teams produced conference individual medalist champions 11 times and NAIA national individual champions twice
