Mike LoPorto is in his 16th year as a member of the Hornet coaching staff. LoPorto is the associate head coach and defensive coordinator and coaches the Hornet defensive line.
LoPorto began his career on the Hornet coaching staff in the fall of 2008. Upon the completion of his graduate assistant program in 2009, LoPorto joined the Hornet coaching staff full-time as the defensive line coach. In 2012, LoPorto was promoted to co-defensive coordinator. In 2020, LoPorto was promoted to associate head coach in recognition of his duties as primary liaison with the University academic community and financial aid office. In 2022, LoPorto was promoted to defensive coordinator.
Since LoPorto’s promotion to defensive coordinator, the Hornets:
• Have a record of 18-6.
• Have two wins over top 25 teams, including a 33-13 win over #5 Northwest Missouri in 2023 where LoPorto’s defense intercepted six Northwest Missouri State passes.
• Have two postseason bowl wins: a 48-27 win over Southeastern Oklahoma in the 2022 Live United Bowl and a 55-24 win over Southern Nazarene in the 2023 Fun Town RV Heritage Bowl. In the 2022 Live United Bowl win, linebacker Cade Harelson was selected as the game’s most valuable player.
• Allowed only 21.7 points per game during the 2022 season, the lowest by a defense in the 16 season Garin Higgins era.
• Held 18 of 24 opponents under their season scoring average.
• Are ranked in the top four of six major MIAA defensive statistical categories, including interceptions (6), fumble recoveries (18), total takeaways (44) and quarterback sacks (54).
• Have had 14 defensive players earn All-MIAA honors, including three first team selections in 2022 (one of only two teams to have three).
During his tenure as co-defensive coordinator from 2012 to 2021, the Hornets:
• Posted a 69-38 record with three seasons of ten wins or more, including a school record 11 wins in both 2015 and 2016 and a school record 11 straight wins in 2016.
• Had eight wins over top 25 teams.
• Made three NCAA Division II playoff appearances with three wins, an NCAA Division II National Quarterfinal appearance in 2015 and the first home NCAA Division II playoff win in program history in 2016.
• Were invited to three postseason bowl games with a 45-38 win over Texas A&M – Kingsville in the 2012 Kanza Bowl and a 30-22 win over the University of Arkansas at Monticello in the 2018 Corsicana Bowl.
• Had 61 defensive players earn All-MIAA honors, including eight selected as first-team and 11 selected as second-team.
• Intercepted 134 passes, recovered 91 fumbles and sacked opposing quarterbacks 219 times.
In fifteen seasons coaching the Hornets defensive line, LoPorto has coached his defensive linemen to an impressive list of accomplishments on the field:
• 31 Hornet defensive linemen have earned All-MIAA honors, including first-team selections Danny Webb in 2010, Eddie Vinson in 2016 and Jordan Williams in 2022 and 2023.
• In 2010 Danny Webb was recognized as Emporia State’s first AFCA All-American since 2003 and the first defensive lineman to earn first-team All-American honors by any organization since John Lohmeyer in 1972.
• In 2022, Jordan Williams earned Don Hansen Division II Honorable Mention All-American honors.
• Jordan Williams (1st), Danny Webb (4th), Tre’Vaun Ammons (6th) and Eddie Vinson (9th) all sit inside the top ten in ESU football history in career sacks.
• The 2015 (40 – 2nd), 2016 (39 – 3rd) and 2022 (28 – 7th) defensive lines are in the top ten in sacks in a season in ESU football history.
• Jordan Williams is 6th in Hornet football history in career tackles for loss with 41.
• DeAndre Glover is 4th in Hornet football history in tackles for loss in a season with 18.5. Tre’Vaun is 8th with 17.5.
• After playing for LoPorto during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, Harold Ayodele (Kansas City Chiefs) and Danny Webb (Denver Broncos) both earned invitations to NFL training camps. Eddie Vinson also earned an NFL opportunity after playing for LoPorto during the 2014 to 2016 seasons with an invitation to the Chicago Bears training camp in 2017.
During LoPorto’s tenure as co-defensive coordinator and defensive coordinator (2012 through 2023), the Hornet defense produced six defensive All-Americans:
• Danny Webb - 2010 First-Term AFCA All-American
• Derek Lohmann - 2011 Second-Team Don Hansen All-American
• Lawson Holbert – 2019 Third-Team Don Hansen All-American
• Jace McDown - 2019 Honorable Mention Don Hansen All-American
• Jace McDown - 2021 Honorable Mention Don Hansen All-American
• Jordan Williams - 2022 Honorable Mention Don Hansen All-American
Other achievements by Hornet defenders coached by LoPorto include:
• After a two-year career at linebacker in 2011 and 2012, Jeff Richards went on to professional career in the NFL and Canadian Football League as a defensive back from 2015 to 2022.
• Linebacker Jace McDown (2017 to 2021) is the 5th leading tackler in Hornet football history with 311 total tackles. McDown is also 8th all-time in tackles for loss with 37.5.
• Linebacker Dawson Hammes (2018 to 2022) is the 8th leading tackler in Hornet football history with 275 total tackles.
• Defensive back Derek Lohmann (2009 to 2012) is 1st in career interceptions with 14 and 2ndin interceptions in a season with eight in 2011.
• Defensive back Lawson Holbert and linebacker Kole Shankie are tied for 3rd in interceptions in a season with seven.
Not to be overlooked by the impressive accomplishments of the Hornet defense on the field under LoPorto, the Hornet football team has thrived in the classroom under coach LoPorto’s academic oversight:
• The Hornet football team has posted a team GPA over 3.0 for nine straight semesters(spring 2020 through spring 2024). The team has also posted a team GPA of 2.85 or better over the last 27 semesters dating back to the spring semester of 2011.
• At least one member of the Hornet football team has been recognized as a College Sports Communicators Academic All-American for eight straights years.
• Over the past five seasons, 215 Hornet football players have achieved MIAA Academic Honor Roll for maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better.
LoPorto joined the Hornet coaching staff after completing his playing career with the Hornets. LoPorto played in 25 games as a linebacker, recording 46 total tackles, four tackles for loss and a sack.
LoPorto is originally from Blue Springs, Missouri. A 2004 graduate of Blue Springs South HS,he earned first-team All-State and All-Suburban Big 8 Conference honors as a senior.
LoPorto earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Emporia State in 2008 and a master’s degree in health, physical education and recreation in 2009.
LoPorto and his wife Kim, also an Emporia State graduate, have two daughters, Kaelynn and Makayla.
