Tom Hofman was named head coach of the Trine women's NCAA DIII hockey team in May of 2016, with the team beginning competition in the fall of 2017.

In just the team's second season, Hofman led them to their first Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) Slaats Cup Playoff berth. The team finished the season tied for fourth in the NCHA with an 8-8-2 record to earn their first postseason berth. The Thunder would bow out of the playoffs in the first round but finished the season 10-13-2 overall a six-win and 12 point improvement over their inaugural season.

Hofman most recently served as the inaugural head coach of the women’s ACHA Division I hockey team at Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Previously he had served as an assistant men’s hockey coach at Davenport and an assistant women’s hockey coach at Grand Valley State University, where his duties included serving as lead recruiter.

"I am honored and excited to be a part of the Trine Athletics family, to embrace the mission and rich 132-year history of the university, as well as the greater Angola community,” said Hofman. “I am thankful to Dr. Brooks, Mr. Land and the entire search committee for the incredible opportunity to develop and lead the Trine University women’s hockey program. Their excitement, commitment, vision for academics and facilities were evident during this entire process. I am confident that my past experience in building a program at a private university will bode well in developing a competitive first-year team here.

“I will forever be indebted to those at my former university for all that they have done for me, including the leadership and mentoring provided over the past four years in Grand Rapids. They allowed me to realize my dream of coaching college hockey. I would also like to thank all of the players and staff, past and present, who believed in the program’s vision for the future. I am confident the program will continue moving in a positive direction with much success.

“I am blessed to have my family’s support in this transition, particularly my daughter Ashley, a former player herself and now doctor. Their belief in my career goals has been, and will be, critical to my success in past, present and future roles."

“Tom comes to us with experience in getting a quality women’s hockey program off the ground, and we look forward to him doing the same and more here at Trine,” said Matt Land. “He has shown skill as both a coach and a recruiter, and we believe those skills will enable him to propel Trine to prominence in the college women’s hockey realm.”

“As we look forward to launching these new programs, we are thrilled with the caliber of coaches we have to get them off the ground,” said Earl D. Brooks II, Ph.D., Trine University president. “Building quality programs starts with strong leadership, and we believe we have found capable leaders in both our new hockey coaches.”