LI's Mike and Bob Hoppey honored by SUNY Cortland for lacrosse accomplishments

If the careers of Mike Hoppey and his father, Bob, are any indication, the SUNY Cortland men’s lacrosse program represents a vessel of opportunity for Long Islanders.

Mike Hoppey, a Setauket native and Ward Melville High School graduate, was one of Long Island’s better attackmen in the early 1970s and played his way onto the then-NCAA Division II Red Dragons’ radar. Ultimately, Hoppey, whose father was a Cortland football and lacrosse player, enrolled at the college to play lacrosse and study physical education.

As a freshman in 1975, Hoppey won the Division II national championship, scoring twice in the title game. Over the next three years, he was selected as an All-American twice before graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1978. Hoppey then used that degree to land a teaching job in the Three Village School District, one he's held for 32 years.

While teaching, he became the boys lacrosse head coach at Ward Melville in 2006 and won a state title in 2007. Though he retired from coaching Ward Melville in 2013, he still coaches the Gelinas Middle School boys lacrosse team. He credited Cortland for giving him the platform to create a resume that ultimately let him have this career path.

“I wanted to be a teacher and I wanted to be a coach,” Hoppey said. “If you wanted to be a lacrosse player and you wanted to be a teacher, Cortland was the place to go.”

The connection between Cortland and Long Island is still strong, as 40% of the players from last season’s team are from Long Island.

“It’s in-state tuition, and if you want to be a teacher, it’s the place to go,” Hoppey said.

Bob Hoppey also majored in physical education at Cortland and wound up teaching at Brentwood High School for 30 years, where he won 304 games as the boys lacrosse coach. He died in 2013 at 81 years old.

Both Hoppeys are two of seven individuals who the Red Dragons will honor this Friday and Saturday as part of their alumni weekend. Other Cortland legends with Long Island ties who will be honored are Fred Acee, Richard Speckmann and Jack Emmer. Acee coached at SUNY Farmingdale for 32 seasons, Speckmann was Nassau County Community College’s coach for 40 years and Emmer, a Mineola native, was the NCAA’s all-time wins leader when he retired.