Saint John's University

Bio
• Bob Alpers '82 ended his 29th season as head golf coach at Saint John's in 2022-23. He started his tenure as the Johnnies' athletic director on July 1, 2016. 

2020-21 Season
• Alpers resumed duties as head coach and led the Johnnies to a fifth-place finish out of 43 teams at the NCAA Division III Championship in Nicholasville, Ky. The top-10 finish was the Johnnies' 11th (15th in the top 15) in 20 appearances at nationals. Aside from the NCAA Championship, the Johnnies won five tournaments and finished second in the other four competitions in 2022-23. SJU went 51-2 against MIAC schools (101-5 over the past two seasons) and recorded its best team scoring average – 293.1 over 24 rounds – which was 2.5 shots better than the previous mark recorded last season (295.6). Sam Berger ’24 earned PING All-America honorable mention distinction after he led the Johnnies with a four-round score of 286 (-2) to finish eighth out of 221 golfers at nationals. The -2 was the program's best individual performance at the national meet, topping Clinton Dammann's -1 that earned him medalist honors as SJU won the first of back-to-back NCAA championships in 2007. 
• In the fall, SJU overcame a 10-shot deficit at the start of the final round to win its third consecutive title by 13 strokes at the 2022 MIAC Championships. Nate Loxtercamp ’24 became the 13th Johnnie to earn medalist honors at the MIAC Championships with a three-round total of 210 (-6). He also earned the MIAC Elite 22 Award, which is given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA among the All-MIAC honorees, for the second-consecutive season and was joined on the All-MIAC (top 10) team by three teammates: Andrew Boemer ’25 (third), Sam Berger ’24 (fourth) and Blake Schuler ’24 (t-eighth). 

2020-21 Season
• After the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the fall portion of the schedule, SJU shattered the 54-hole, championship-meet record with a three-day total of 850 (284-281-285) - besting the previous record-low (set by SJU in 2006) by 27 shots - to win the program's 13th conference title April 30-May 2 at Emerald Greens G.C. in Hastings. All five Johnnies finished in the top 12, with four earning All-MIAC honors (top 10). Thomas Gutzmer ’23 became the 12th Johnnie to earn medalist honors at the MIAC Championship with a three-round total of 208 (-8). SJU made its 18th appearance at the Division III Championship in Wheeling, W.Va., and tied for 15th out of 37 teams. Alpers '82 and Michael Whitlock were named the MIAC Men's Golf Coach of the Year. The honor was the 13th for Alpers, who announced in March that he was relinquishing his position as head golf coach to focus on his duties as the Johnnies' athletic director. 

2019-20 Season
• The Johnnies were determined to earn their third consecutive at-large berth to the NCAA Division III Championship this spring, what would have been their 18th national tournament appearance overall, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the NCAA to cancel all championships March 12 and the MIAC followed suit with all spring sports the following day (March 13). SJU ended the season ranked No. 23 nationally.

2018-19 Season
• SJU made its 17th trip to the NCAA Division III Championship in the last 20 seasons and tied for 21st out of 42 teams on May 14-15 in Nicholasville, Ky. David Schneider ’20 qualified as an individual for the NCAA’s final two rounds and finished 21st out of 216 golfers with a four-round total of 297 (+9).

2017-18 Season
• SJU made its 16th trip to the NCAA Division III Championship and tied for 19th out of 42 teams May 15-16 at Grandover Resort in Greensboro, N.C. The Johnnies recorded a two-round total of 608 (+32) and missed the cut (top-18 teams) by one shot.

Accomplishments
• Alpers has guided the Johnnies to 13 MIAC titles and 20 NCAA appearances, including back-to-back national championships in 2007 and 2008. SJU has finished in the top 10 at the national tournament 11 of the 20 appearances (and the top 15 in 15 of the 20).
• His program has produced 34 All-Americans since 2000 and 43 Scholar All-Americans since 1997.
• He was named the 2007 Eaton Golf Pride National Coach of the Year.
• Alpers was a 2010 inductee into the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Hall of Fame
• A six-time GCAA Region Coach of the Year, most recently in 2023, Alpers has won MIAC Coach of the Year honors 14 times in his coaching career (1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023).

Past Experience
• A standout collegiate athlete, Alpers was selected as the Johnnies' Most Valuable Player during the 1981-82 basketball season. As an assistant coach for 20 seasons, Alpers helped lead the Johnnies to two MIAC basketball titles and four NCAA Division III tournament appearances.

Personal 
• Alpers and his wife Elli, have a son, R.J. '17, and live in Avon.