In thirteen
seasons as head coach he has guided the Flying Dutchmen to six Michigan
Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) championships
(1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007) while posting a 73-53 overall
record and a 58-19 mark in conference games. The team qualified for
the NCAA
playoffs in 2000, 2003 and 2006.
A member of the Hope faculty since 1986, he is an associate
professor of kinesiology. Prior to being named head coach in 1995, he served
nine years as a member of the football coaching staff. He was defensive
coordinator from 1991-94.
With 73 wins through 13 seasons, Kreps is the second
winningest coach in Hope football history. Hope has had only six head
football
coaches since 1917.
Under Kreps' tutelage, the Flying Dutchmen have been conference champions
six times in the past decade. The team won a school record 14 consecutive league games between
the 2005-07 seasons.
When Hope won the 2007 MIAA co-championship,
coach Kreps joined an elite group of coaches to win six or more conference
football
championships during their career. He became just the fifth coach
in the 110-year history of the MIAA to accomplish the fete. The others
are Ray Smith of Hope (9 titles over 25 seasons from 1970-94); Pete
Schmidt of Albion
(9 titles
over 14 seasons from 1983-96); Frank "Muddy" Waters of Hillsdale (6 titles
over 6 seasons from 1954-60); and Royal Campbell of Alma (6 titles
over 6 seasons from 1921-35).
An Illinois native, Kreps served as a graduate assistant
football coach at the University of Illinois prior to joining the Hope
staff. He is a 1984 graduate of Monmouth College in Illinois, where
he played football four years -- serving as captain his senior year.
He received the master of science degree in athletic administration
from the University of Illinois in 1986.
He was active in student activities as a Monmouth undergraduate,
receiving the Monmouth College Student Association Award for service
to the college community.
His teaching specialty is athletic administration and
sports management. Since coming to Hope he has initiated a summer football
camp program which annually attracts up to 300 high school athletes.
He is active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and at the First
Presbyterian Church in Holland, where he served as an elder. He is
a member of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and serves
as an elector on the USA Today/AFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll Committee and
the AFCA All-American selection committee. He also serves on the North Region Football
Advisory Committee for the NCAA Division III championships.
Hope College football coach Dean Kreps < kreps@hope.edu > is one of the most successful coaches
in the history of America's oldest collegiate athletic conference.
