THE FLATS – An endowed golf scholarship at Georgia Tech has been established by an anonymous donor to honor longtime Georgia Tech golf coach Bruce Heppler and his wife, Traci. The Bruce and Traci Heppler Athletic Scholarship Endowment will be awarded each year to a member of the golf team.
Heppler has served as head coach of the Georgia Tech golf program since 1995, presiding over a run of Atlantic Coast Conference championships and NCAA Championships performances – 13 ACC titles and 18 trips to the NCAA Championship finals – that is unprecedented for any sports program in Georgia Tech history. The Yellow Jackets have won 65 tournaments in Heppler’s 26 years.
He has led the Yellow Jackets to an NCAA regional every year since 1998, excluding 2020, when no NCAA championships were held. Eighteen of those teams advanced to the NCAA Finals. 11 of those teams have finished in the top eight, with four of those teams reaching match play since that format was introduced in 2009. Prior to that, three Georgia Tech teams finished as national runners-up under the former 72-hole stroke-play format.
During Heppler’s tenure, Georgia Tech has won or shared 13 ACC titles. Only two ACC coaches have led their teams to more ACC titles than Heppler has. With victories won by student-athletes Andy Ogletree, Tyler Strafaci and Matt Kuchar, three of his players have earned the coveted United States Amateur Championship. This record is tied for the highest number by any college coach nationally.
Heppler has been named ACC Coach of the Year 10 times, most recently in 2019, more than any ACC coach in conference history. Since 2000, Georgia Tech has finished outside the top 10 in both polls only four times.
Named an honorary alumnus of Georgia Tech in 2018, Heppler has amplified the trajectory of a program that has roots back to one on the greatest champions of all time – Bobby Jones, Jr. His legacy as a coach will continue to have an impact on generations of Georgia Tech student-athletes participating in the golf program, teaching them self-reliance, and how to apply the lessons learned on the golf course to the rest of their lives.
Friends and fans are encouraged to contribute to this fund in honor of Bruce and Traci to further the impact for the golf program and future student-athletes. If interested, please contact the Alexander-Tharpe at atfund@athletics.gatech.edu or 404-894-5414.
