Board of Directors

Hal Smith

Hal Smith is a 1967 graduate of The Kings College in New York. He earned masters degrees from Montclair State (NY) in 1971 and from Fresno State (CA) in 1982. In 2005, he became just the 49th collegiate head men's basketball coach (at all levels) to reach 600 wins. He led Malone to the NCCAA Division I National Championship in 1996.

Hal was diagnosed with PSC in 1991 and underwent a successful live donor transplant in April of 2000. Hal underwent a second traditional liver transplant in 2008. He is a co-founder of the Hoops 4 Healing Organization and has been an active speaker in support of organ and tissue donation at the local, state, and national levels.
  
Hal and his wife, Barbara, live in Canton and have three adult children.

Chuck Cooper

Chuck Cooper was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He moved to Wooster Ohio in 1969 to attend college and is a 1973 graduate of the College of Wooster. 

Following graduation he coached men's basketball at Adrian College in Michigan and at Northwestern High School, where he also coached football and baseball. He also served as the athletic director at Northwestern High School from 1985 - 1989. In 1989 he moved to Wooster High School to become the Director of Athletics and Student Activities, a position he held until his retirement in June of 2005.  

Chuck was diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) in 1998 and underwent a successful, traditional liver transplant at the Cleveland Clinic in July of 1999.  He is one of the co-founders of the Hoops 4 Healing organization.

He currently works for the NuHop Center where he facilitates leadership training and team development programs for athletic teams, schools, and corporations. He is also a volunteer speaker for LifeBanc of Northeast Ohio.

Chuck and his wife Joan have 3 adult children.

Bruce Brown

Bruce Brown is a native of Columbus, Ohio.  He did his undergraduate work in education at Bowling Green State University, graduating in 1972.  From 1972-1981, he taught school and was a head boys basketball coach in Ohio at three high schools.  In 1981, he returned to his collegiate alma mater and served as an assistant men's basketball coach for the Falcons for three years.  In 1984, he returned to the high school coaching ranks where he continued to be a head basketball coach until 1999.  He is currently the athletic director at Uniontown (OH) Lake High School (since 1998) where is serves on several district and state athletic administrative organizations.
   
Bruce was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 1968 and with PSC initially in 1995.  He is presently asymptomatic and continues to monitor the disease through his specialists.

Karen Loy

Karen (Rugani) Loy was raised in Waynesburg, Ohio, graduating from Sandy Valley High School. She graduated from The Ohio State University in 1978 with a B.A., and again in 1987 with an M.B.A. Upon graduating from M.B.A. school, she moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for 2 years working as an accountant at Honeywell Defense Systems, but returned to Ohio to marry her long-time sweetheart, Steve Loy, who was an assistant basketball coach at The University of Akron.

In 1990, they became the parents of Alexander Benjamin, and in 1992, Meredith Marie.

In April 1992, Steve became the head Mens' Basketball Coach at Walsh University leading his teams to great success, posting a record of 254-130 in 12 seasons. In 1997, Steve was diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC). His condition remained stable until August 2003, when he was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer). After a valiant fight, he succumbed to the disease in February 2004.

Karen is employed as an accountant at Lockheed Martin Corporation in Akron, Ohio.

Jeff Young

Jeff Young, an Akron native, earned his bachelor's degree from Walsh University in 1990. He completed requirements for his master's degree in education from Walsh in '91.

When Head Coach Steve Loy, one of the original founders of the Hoops 4 Healing Foundation, passed away on February 7, 2004 due to complications from liver cancer, Young was named the head men's basketball coach at Walsh. Coach Young has continued Walsh University's involvement in Hoops 4 Healing by becoming a board member in 2004.

Jeff and his wife, the former Lesley Keller, reside in Jackson Township.