Southern Utah HS basketball tournament honors legendary coach


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CEDAR CITY — The name Steve Hodson means a lot of things in Southern Utah: Coach, father, husband, grandfather, athletic director, mentor, teacher and friend.

All of these words are associated with the former Southern Utah State College (now Southern Utah University) basketball player.

Hodson was a wildly successful coach in Southern Utah, leading Canyon View and Cedar high schools to state basketball titles.

Additionally, he also served as the head coach of Southern Utah University’s women’s program.

However, "victim of cancer" is the one phrase that can’t be forgotten when Hodson’s name is mentioned. The great coach passed away from multiple-cell myeloma in 2008, leaving behind a slew of touched lives.

His impact was so strong that his wife, Suzy, and several other colleagues at Canyon View started an annual basketball tournament in 2010, known as the “Steve Hodson Cancer Classic.”

Suzy said the tournament began as a way to memorialize her late husband.

“When we first started, Kim Blackner (Canyon View assistant coach) called and asked if I cared,” said Suzy, who teaches U.S. History at Canyon View. “I thought it was a great idea, and the first year it was just little and small. (Now), we have teams that come every year because what we do is such a fun thing.”

SUU athletic director Ken Beazer with newly-hired SUU women's basketball coach Steve Hodson (May 1, 2006) Rohn Solomon, SUU Publications
SUU athletic director Ken Beazer with newly-hired SUU women's basketball coach Steve Hodson (May 1, 2006) Rohn Solomon, SUU Publications

Steve Hodson was the type of figure who influenced many people, according to his former colleagues.

Canyon View athletic director Jim Langford, who coached with and was neighbors with the Hodson family, said his mentor taught a great many people.

“(Steve) was really an advocate for sports in general here,” said Langford, who was hired to coach Canyon View’s boys team by Hodson. “He was a fiery, competitive guy, and you had to show up prepared. He had expectations for you the moment you walked in the door.

“He knew kids individually; he knew what they needed. He knew who he need to coach, but it extended far beyond practice. He taught kids in the classroom; he talked to them about life. Even when he was a coach at SUU, being his next-door neighbor, I saw the line of kids that would show up at his house just to talk to him.”

To Steve Hodson, basketball was everything. The Orem native grew up as an avid follower of the sport, and eventually played at Southern Utah. Then, Hodson took an assistant coaching position at Dixie State before moving up to Southern Utah.

He then settled at Cedar High where he coached the team to back-to-back state titles. He also eventually won state titles with both the boys and girls at Canyon View.

Suzy Hodson said teaching the game of basketball was everything to her late husband.

“If you want to be a great coach, it has to be a passion and it has to be something that you’re willing to give,” she said. “He used to say he could coach and teach (basketball), and never play a game. It’s the part that he cared the most about.”

Those who knew Steve Hodson said he understood the impact basketball could have on people's lives, and the tournament that bears his name makes an impact.

Each year, all of the tournament proceeds are donated to individuals in Iron County who suffer from a form of cancer. All of the tournament workers are volunteers, and several businesses sponsor events.

This year, the tournament’s proceeds benefitted Nash Zobell, a 4-year old boy suffering from leukemia, and Raquel Wilson, a 16-year old girl suffering from a brain tumor.

The tournament included 86 games over three days and included teams from both Utah and Nevada.

While basketball tournaments mostly run the same, the Hodson Cancer Classic prides itself on personal attention and fun things for the crowd, like a slam-dunk competition.

Suzy Hodson said the fun side of the tournament is what makes it so appealing: “You wouldn’t even need a (cause) to have a tournament like this,” she said.

Canyon View principal Rich Nielsen, who came to the school after Hodson coached there, said the goal of the tournament will always be to simultaneously give back while honoring the great coach.

“Steve was so well-known in this community that he had an impact,” he said. “He’s one of those people that everyone knows, so to be able to use his name for good is a great thing for this community.

"We have teams that regularly come down to this tournament because of the ability to not only get in some great basketball games, but to be able to make a difference in somebody else’s life, which is what Steve was known for.”

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