More than just a coach, Ralph Hodge was a leader on and off the court, a beloved grandpa, and always strived to be the best for those that he worked alongside.
Hodge is a former coach and player at Olivet Nazarene University. Hodge was a player for the Tiger basketball team from 1972-1975 and he led the team in all statistics across the board. He set the record for most points in program history which wasn’t broken until 2002. Following his college-playing career, he began his coaching career and coached the Tigers men’s basketball team for 39 years. He became ill in November of his 40th season as the head coach in 2018 and passed away leaving behind a truly amazing legacy.
Current head coach of the basketball team, Nick Birkey, then took over after being an assistant coach under Hodge for 10 years. Coach Hodge was associated with the team in some way 45 years out of the 55 seasons of Olivet basketball.
Birkey coach alongside Hodge.
“He was always encouraging me to be a better coach,” Birkey said, “And now being able to coach on the court that his name is on is an honor.”
Birkey also got to coach alongside Hodge throughout his 4-year tenure at Olivet as a student assistant traveling with the team, breaking down film, and learning what really goes into leading a college team.
“I remember traveling to play a division 2 ranked team and we beat them by about 15 points, and coach slapped me on the leg and said ‘good job’, and I remember that like it was yesterday,” he said.
Hodge and Birkey had a strong bond when coaching together and that Hodge left his mark not only on Olivet athletics but on the community of Olivet as well.
