Mike Dirks enters his 12th season at NM State in 2022-23. Dirks has entrenched the Aggies as the top golf program in the Western Athletic Conference and one of the nation’s finest.
A storied coach with championships and Coach of the Year awards, Dirks was introduced as the head coach of the NM State men’s golf team in Sept. 2011 and has filled the Aggies trophy case with WAC Championships and WAC Coach of the Year honors in three of the last five years.
Dirks led the Aggies to a third place finish at the 2016-17 WAC Championships. The season also featured senior Luis Medina earning First Team All-WAC honors after posting six top-25 finishes and a 73.06 stroke average.
Prior to a fourth place finish in the 2015-16 WAC Championships, Dirks directed the Aggies to their eighth WAC Championship in 2014-15. The title was also the third straight for NM State. Four of his Aggie starters earned All-WAC status in 2014-15, with Pat Beyhan and Luis Medina on the first team. Kenneth Fadke II and Brett Walker were placed on the second team. Dirks also picked up his third straight and 10th career Coach of the Year award. His direction paced the Aggies to their third consecutive and 14th NCAA Regional appearance.
Dirks guided the Aggies to a seventh WAC title in 2013-14, earning his ninth career Coach of the Year honor. He helped Pat Beyhan earn WAC Player of the Year and first team All-WAC honors, along with Kenneth Fadke II and Brett Walker. The Aggies also made their 13th trip to the NCAA Regional Tournament in 2014.
In 2012-13, Dirks led the Aggies back on top of the WAC with the programs sixth conference title. Dirks was named WAC Coach of the Year, the seventh of his career. He also guided Justin Shin and Kenneth Fadke II to all-conference honors, as the Aggies qualified for their 12th NCAA Regional appearance in school history.
In his first year as head coach for the Aggies, Dirks coached NM State to a second place finish at the WAC Championships, helping senior Zachery Fullerton and junior Justin Shin to compete as individuals in the NCAA West Regional Golf Tournament. Shin was also named a first team all-WAC selection and a 2012 PING All-Region pick.
Dirks formerly had stints as the head golf coach at Sam Houston State, Houston, Tulane and Lamar before spending three years (2008-2011) as associate head men’s golf coach at SMU prior to coming to NM State.
In his first two seasons at SMU, Dirks helped guide freshman Kelly Kraft to PING All-Region honors and Conference USA Newcomer of the Year accolades. In 2009, Dirks led James Kwon to All-C-USA honors and an All-C-USA Freshman Team selection. In 2010, Dirks guided SMU to an NCAA Regional appearance, helping Kelly Kraft to All-C-USA honors and a PING Honorable Mention All-American honor.
Dirks arrived in Dallas after spending two-plus seasons directing the men’s and women’s programs at Sam Houston State. Under his tutelage, Sam Houston won the 2007 Southland Conference Women’s Golf Championship and his two squads combined to win 12 tournament titles overall. In addition, six golfers earned All-Southland Conference honors a total of eight times and, in 2007, he had golfers named SLC Newcomer of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
Prior to taking over the Sam Houston State golf program, Dirks served as Director of Eagle Golf Instruction in Friendswood, Texas, from 2003 to 2005. He was head men’s golf coach at Houston from 1994 to 2003, at Tulane from 1990 to 1994 and Lamar in 1986 and 1987.
In 2005, Dirks was named Conference USA Men’s Golf Coach of the Decade. He was a three-time C-USA Coach of the Year (1997, 1998, 1999) who produced 10 All-Americans, four league individual medalists, 14 first-team All-Conference USA selections, three C-USA Freshmen of the Year winners and the 2003 NCAA Central Regional individual medalist. Dirks also coached six C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal recipients and nine members of the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
Houston won the Conference USA men’s team championship in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001, and an NCAA Central Regional championship in 1997. Dirks was named the NCAA District VI Men’s Golf Coach of the Year in 1998 and 1999 and was selected to coach the USA Junior National Golf Team in Japan in 2001.
At Tulane, Dirks was named Metro Conference Coach of the Year in 1994.
At Lamar, his alma mater, Dirks paced the Cardinals to Southland Conference Championships in 1986 and 1987, earning SLC Coach of the Year both seasons. In 1986, he directed Lamar to a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships.
A Fort Worth, Texas, native, Dirks was a four-year golf letterman at Lamar from 1982 to 1985. He won the Southland Conference Championship in 1982 and received both all-conference and honorable mention All-America honors.
Dirks has served as an officer for the Golf Coaches Association of America, a member of the NCAA District VI Advisory Committee and All-America Scholar Selection Committee and conducted the 1995 NCAA Central Regional Championship.
Dirks received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Lamar in 1985. Dirks has two sons David and Ben.
