Augsburg University Athletics

One of the most accomplished high school basketball coaches in Minnesota history, Ken Novak Jr. has led boys' basketball teams at Hopkins and Blaine to 17 state tournaments, winning eight state titles in his 37-year career. His 17 state tournament appearances are the most of any boys' basketball coach in Minnesota history, with his eight titles second-most. He has an 871-152 record in his coaching career, most among active Minnesota boys' basketball coaches and third-most in state history. He started his coaching career as an assistant at Augsburg while he was still a student, first under Erv Inniger in 1975-76 and then under Rees Johnson from 1976-78. After spending seven years as head coach at Blaine, where he led the Bengals to the 1987 state tournament, he returned in 1990 to his native Hopkins, where he had played high school basketball for his father, Ken Novak Sr.

After winning three straight state titles and seven in a 10-year span from 2002 to 2011, Novak was named the ESPN RISE National Coach of the Year. In 2012, Novak was named as one of the top five boys' basketball coaches in Minnesota history by the Minnesota State High School League, as part of the organization's celebration of the 100th year of the state high school basketball tournaments. Royals teams he has coached have won 20 or more games the last 27 seasons in a row, and have won 27 conference championships.

He was inducted into the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2013, and in 2019, he was inducted into the second class of the Minnesota High School Basketball Hall of Fame, in addition to earning Minnesota Class AAAA Coach of the Year honors. Ken has taught social studies at Hopkins High School. Ken is the son of M. Kenneth and Joan Novak, and he and his wife Shauna have three children, Andy, Kenny Junior, and Lynsey.