Karen Hoppa announced her retirement from coaching following the conclusion of the 2024 season after spending 26 seasons at the helm of the Auburn soccer program. In her 26 seasons on The Plains, Hoppa led the Tigers to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, including two Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight in 2016. She led the program to its first SEC regular-season crown in 2002 and its first SEC Tournament Championship in 2011. 

In her final season, Hoppa became just the ninth female head coach to reach 350 career victories thanks to a convincing 5-0 Auburn win on Sept. 5, 2024 at Samford. Hoppa's 357 total wins rank 32nd all-time in Division I history. 

Hoppa coached 77 All-SEC selections, including four SEC Player of the Year choices and four SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year choices. Her tutelage and recruitment of top players have also led to national recognition as she has coached 16 All-Americans and 58 All-Region honorees in her tenure. 

Hoppa's teams were a model of athletic success on the field and academic success off it. A consistent postseason entrant, Auburn advanced to the SEC Tournament 23 times, while maintaining one of the highest team GPAs on the Auburn campus, being eligible for the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award on over 19 occasions. 

Hoppa also saw five of her players earn College Sports Communicators Academic All-America recognition in Katy Frierson (2010 & 2011), Anna Haddock (2021, 2022), Jenn Johnson (2007 & 2008), Erin Hinson (2003) and Casie Ramsier (2015 & 2016), while Frierson was named the NSCAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2010.  

Since the start of the 2001 season, two years after her arrival at Auburn, she guided the program to 19 10-win seasons. 

Hoppa led the Tigers to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances. By defeating Hofstra, 1-0, in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, the senior class became the first in program history to win a NCAA Tournament match in four straight seasons. 

The 2024 season was nothing short of magical for Hoppa's final team. Her Tigers finished the year with an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on a 13-4-4 record. Auburn put its foot on the gas in the season opener, toppling No. 5 Clemson 4-0, and did not look back. Thanks to additional marquee wins such as a 1-0 result over No. 17 Ohio State, a 4-0 thrashing of LSU in Baton Rouge and a gutsy 3-2 win over the Lady Vols in Knoxville, Auburn remained ranked in the United Soccer Coaches poll from week two until the very end of the regular season. The Tigers also earned their highest ranking in program history with a nod as the No. 6 team in the nation during weeks four and five.  

Auburn's efforts were recognized with SEC awards as players from all three lines were honored following a successful regular season. Defender LJ Knox (second team), midfielder Anna Haddock (first team) and forward Olivia Woodson (second team) earned All-SEC status. Haddock repeated as the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.  

During the 2024 run, Auburn's defense issued 12 clean sheets, including eight in a row to begin the year, both single-season program records. The Auburn attack soared to new heights, earning an eye-catching 164 points on 54 goals and 56 assists, both numbers that ranked top-three in the league. It was the second-best offensive production in school history and the most since Auburn banked 56 goals during the 2000 season.  
 
Auburn clinched its 27th overall SEC Tournament appearance in 2023, jumping ahead of Florida to become the new league leader in total appearances. The Tigers outplayed Tennessee 2-1 in the opening round to secure a quarterfinals bid for the third time since 2020. Senior Anna Haddock led the squad in postseason awards, earning SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year as well as Second Team All-SEC.  
 
Hoppa and the Tigers capped off the 2021 season during which the team posted a 12-7-1 overall record and went 5-4-1 in league play en route to earning a top-16 national seed in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in program history. After winning five straight contests to complete the 2020-21 season, the Tigers won six in a row to start the 2021 campaign, marking a program record 11-game winning streak. Prior to hosting Samford in the NCAA Tournament, Auburn advanced to the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2016 with a 2-1 win against South Carolina in Orange Beach, Alabama.  
 
The 23rd-year head coach saw a number of her players earn individual accolades as Alyssa Malonson was not only named the SEC Defender of the Year, but also earned United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-America honors, becoming the seventh player in program history to earn the distinction from the United Soccer Coaches. Additionally, sophomores Anna Haddock and Marissa Arias joined Malonson as United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region and All-SEC performers.

The Tigers' postseason history is highlighted by the program’s first NCAA Quarterfinal appearance in 2016. Auburn defeated the likes of South Alabama, UConn and Florida to advance in the tournament. 
 
Auburn smashed program records for wins and postseason success in consecutive years. In 2016, Auburn tallied 17 victories and reached the Elite Eight behind a program-high seven All-SEC honorees including first-team selections Kiana Clarke, Kristen Dodson and Casie Ramsier, second-team choices Sarah Le Beau and Brooke Ramsier, and all-freshman honorees Bri Folds and Karli Gutsche. 
 
In 2015, the Tigers amassed 16 wins and reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history behind the standout play of All-SEC honorees Kala Faulkner and Casie Ramsier. Faulkner, who ended her career with 91 games played which was one off the school-best mark, paced a defense that posted nine shutouts on the year. Ramsier tied for the second-highest total of 12 goals in 2015. Freshman goalkeeper Sarah Le Beau made 81 saves en route to being the top first-year goalie in the conference. 

Hoppa guided the 2012 Tigers to yet another appearance in the NCAA Tournament, as Auburn advanced to the second round for the second consecutive season. Picked to finish third in the division in the preseason, the Tigers posted a 5-2-0 record against SEC West opponents for a second place finish. Hoppa worked her SEC Tournament magic yet again, leading the Tigers to the championship match for the fifth time. 

Highlighting the 2012 season was senior goalkeeper Amy Howard. Howard ended the year leading the nation in minutes played (2298:56) and eighth in total saves (130). It marked the first time an Auburn player finished the year as a national leader in any statistical category. 
 
Howard also set the school record for career saves at 387, breaking the mark of 356 set by Allison Whitworth (2005-08). Howard's 387 career saves are the second-most in SEC history. 

Already one of the most dominant programs in the SEC, Hoppa's program took another step forward in 2011 as it became the first Western Division team to win the league's automatic bid, posting two shutouts in three wins en route to the SEC Tournament championship. 
 
A second round NCAA Tournament appearance followed as the team tied the school record for wins in a season (15) and had the second-highest goal (50) and assist (61) totals in program history. It also capped the illustrious career of star Frierson, who left owning six school records and who also became just the fifth player in league history to be named First Team All-SEC all four years of her career. King also capped her career by being voted a SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year, Auburn's first since 2006. 

Hoppa guided Auburn to its sixth SEC West Title in the last eight seasons in 2008, earning the school's third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid, and its second hosting opportunity, going 12-9-2 on the year, which included an incredible 9-3-0 mark at home and a 7-3-1 mark in conference play. 

Freshman midfielder Frierson and senior goalkeeper Allison Whitworth both had historic seasons in 2008 as Frierson was named to the All-SEC First Team and the SEC Freshman of the Year while Whitworth was also named to the All-SEC First Team, was the conference's Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was Auburn's first-ever WPS Draft pick. 

Hoppa moved into elite company in the sport of women's soccer when she won her 150th career match on September 3, 2006, against William & Mary in a year in which the Tigers reclaimed what had been theirs for four straight seasons but eluded them in 2005 - the SEC Western Division Title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Keyed by a defense that allowed just 14 regular-season goals, the Tigers marched onto yet another SEC West title - the fifth under Hoppa. 

Leading the backline was SEC Defensive Player of the Year Ronda Brooks (the first from an SEC West school) while Whitworth played the entire season between the pipes, following in the footsteps of Hoppa as a tenacious goalkeeper and leader on the field. 

Despite battling injuries to key players throughout the course of the 2005 season, Hoppa guided the Tigers to within one win of their fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and Auburn's first SEC Tournament title. 

Auburn knocked off third-seeded Florida and seventh-seeded Kentucky in the first two rounds of the conference tournament before losing a heart-breaker to top-seeded Tennessee, 1-0. 

At the conclusion of the tournament, Hoppa's players had picked up the Tournament MVP award (Brooks) and three more all-tournament selections (Ashley Eason, Jada Stewart, Kristin Stewart) to go along with the regular-season selections of Brooks to the All-SEC First Team, Eason to the second team and Jenn Johnson to the all-freshman team. 

In 2004, Hoppa led the Tigers to its only undefeated season in SEC play with an Auburn-best 9-0-2 record, the team's fourth-consecutive SEC West title and fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament. 

The team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season, hosting the first and second rounds for the first time in school history at the Auburn Soccer Complex. 

At the conclusion of the season, the Tigers found themselves ranked 19th in the NSCAA/adidas National Rankings and 13th in the final Soccer Buzz poll, the highest final ranking in school history at the time.  

Finishing out their senior seasons in 2004, Chrissy Culver, Megan Rivera, Sarah Steinmann and Jenn Walters each earned All-SEC honors and Rivera became the Tigers' first four-time All-American, owning every Auburn goalkeeper record and three SEC records at the conclusion of her career. 

Hoppa led the Tigers to their first Southeastern Championship title in 2002, three seasons after the team finished at the bottom of the conference standings. For her efforts in leading the team to a school record 15-5-2 mark in 2002, she was named as the SEC Coach of the Year. 

Hoppa helped lead her team to the second round of the NCAA Tournament two years in a row, which is also a feat never reached by an Auburn team. Early in the 2002 season, Hoppa achieved the 100th win of her career in a 4-0 win over South Alabama on Sept. 15. 
 
In 2003, Auburn finished 14-4-3 on the year including a second round appearance in the NCAA Tournament and ended the season with a No. 16 ranking. The ranking marked the first time Auburn was ranked at the conclusion of the season. 

Hoppa kept busy away from Auburn as well in the summer of 2002. The head coaching veteran was named the United States National Team's Youth Goalkeeper Coordinator where her duties took her around the globe during the summer. Hoppa was a coach for the U19 National team in the inaugural FIFA Women's U19 World Championships helping lead the team, and 2004 Auburn senior Megan Rivera, to the World Championship title over host team Canada. 

In 2000, her second season at Auburn, Hoppa led the Tigers to a then school record 13-7-0 record with 11 newcomers, a solid group of returners and only two seniors. In 2000 Hoppa became just the 12th person to be inducted into the University of Central Florida Athletic Hall of Fame for her accomplishments as both an All-America goalkeeper and an academic All-American. 

Her offseason accomplishments did not end there either. Hoppa was then asked to join the Under-18 United States National Team in Bulgaria for the Albena Cup, a full national team tournament. She accepted the invitation and served as an assistant and goalkeeper coach for the U.S. Team that lost on penalty kicks in the championship game. 

Prior to her coming to Auburn, Hoppa served as UCF's head coach from 1993-1998 and spent 1991 to 1993 as an assistant coach for the Golden Knights. All told, Hoppa spent a total of 12 years at UCF as a student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach. 

She led the program to two NCAA tournament appearances as a player, including a trip to the Final Four in 1987, five Trans America Athletic Conference titles and a trip to the 1998 NCAA Tournament as a coach. 

Hoppa posted a 64-44-9 record at UCF, winning five TAAC titles including four in a row from 1993-96. In her final season at UCF, Hoppa guided the squad to a 12-8 mark and a perfect 4-0 in the Trans America Athletic Conference en route to the school's first NCAA Tournament berth since 1991. For her efforts, Hoppa was named TAAC Coach of the Year. 

Hoppa's success at Central Florida wasn't limited to the sidelines, however. She made a name for herself as a one of the greatest goalkeepers in UCF and NCAA history. 

A three-year starter from 1987-90, Hoppa allowed just 30 goals (0.594) in 48 career games in assisting her squads to a 43-13-7 record during her tenure. During her four years, Central Florida made two NCAA appearances, advancing to the Final Four in 1987 and the quarterfinals in 1988. Her 30 goals allowed, 0.594 goals against average, and 30.5 shutouts stood for 30 years as UCF career records. 

As a senior, Hoppa was named the 1990 Adidas/ISAA Goalkeeper of the Year, the NCAA Goalkeeper of the Year and was a finalist for the Hermann Award. She helped UCF to a 9-4-3 record, including a 2-2 tie with national power North Carolina. 

An excellent student as well, Hoppa graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in psychology, a 3.7 grade point average, and was a finalist as a senior for the prestigious Honda Award. She was also recognized as an Adidas/ISAA Scholar-Athlete during her junior and senior years. 

In 1997, Hoppa returned to the field as a player, as a member of the Tampa Bay Extreme, a member of the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues (USISL) "W League." For two seasons, Hoppa was the starting goalkeeper for the Extreme. 

Hoppa is a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and served as a volunteer club coach with the Seminole Soccer Club for five years (1989-93). She was a member of the NCAA Regional Advisory Committee (1995-97), NSCAA Division I Women's Soccer Southeast Ratings Board (1996-98) and the United Soccer Coaches Chair of NCAA Division I Women's Coaches (2017-20). 

Hoppa (formerly Richter) married Scott Hoppa on Dec. 14, 2002. The couple resides in Auburn, Ala., and has a daughter, Bailey.