Hall of Fame
Back To Hall of Fame
Back To Hall of Fame
Dale Hopper (Posthumously), 2006 - Dale Hopper’s contributions to Western Illinois Athletics covered a wide spectrum of musical, emotional and financial efforts.
A high school quarterback at Kankakee High School, Hopper left his own mark at Western Illinois football games with his arrangement of “Georgia,” which continues to be a halftime tradition. Following 23 years at Western Illinois University and 20 as director of bands, he retired from his post in 2002.
He received highest acclaim for the Marching Leathernecks Band and the Jazz Studio Orchestra. Hopper had more than 60 publications to his credit in addition to his best-selling book “Corps Style Marching” (1977) and “The Drill Designer’s Idea Book” (1988). He received the Benny Goodman Award for outstanding jazz educator in 1970; was named Outstanding Marching Band Director in the Midwest in 1974; and was an Illinois Teacher of the Year candidate in 1976, during his 14-year tenure in the public schools.
Throughout a career which included composing, arranging and writing, Hopper composed “Entry Into Olympia,” the official commissioned music for the 1984 International Games for the Disabled. Hopper earned the WIU Presidential Merit Award (1984), the Faculty Excellence Award (1989 and 1990) and was named the College of Fine Arts Outstanding Teacher (1991). He is listed in the International Who’s Who in Music and Who’s Who in Entertainment. Hopper’s legacy has continued not only in the music realms of WIU but also the athletic world. His impact has reached deep into the University and the Macomb community.
Back To Hall of Fame
