Ben Shipp returned to head baseball coach in May of 2012 after spending the previous 18 years as Vice-President for Athletics and guided the Cru to a 21-21 overall record and the team's first ASC Tournament berth in three years. Shipp has guided the Cru to seven overall conference tournament berths in his career (three HOT Tournaments and four ASC Tournaments). He was 131-187 in eight years in his second stint as UMHB's head baseball coach. UMHB also earned back-to-back Team Academic Excellence Awards from the American Baseball Coaches Association.
Shipp became the first full-time athletic director at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in December of 1996. Coach Shipp had been serving as the school's athletic director since June of 1995, while also serving as the head coach of the Cru baseball team. His promotion to full-time athletic director status coincided with the University's decision to make the transition to NCAA Division III status. Not only did Shipp oversee that successful transition, he also saw the UMHB athletic department grow with the addition of football, women's soccer, and women's golf. UMHB now competes in a total of 12 varsity sports. He was promoted to Vice President for Athletics in August of 2002. Shipp served on the NCAA Division III Baseball National Committee from 2010-2014 and was Chairman of that committee from 2013-14. He oversaw the change of the tournament from a traiditional eight-team bracket to pool play leading to a two-of-three Championship Round.
Under Shipp's guidance as Vice-President for Athletics, UMHB won 27 conference championships, had 130 All-Americans and 38 Academic All-Americans.
Coach Shipp was also the Crusaders head baseball coach from 1986-1996. He coached UMHB to a 277-249-1 record in that time, and Coach Shipp is the winningest head coach in UMHB history, with a current record of 386-355-1. Coach Shipp also coached the Crusaders to a runner-up finish at the 1992 NAIA World Series and coached two NAIA All-Americans in that time as well. UMHB also won the Heart of Texas Conference championship in 1994.
Coach Shipp is a 1980 graduate of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, where he was a three-year letterman for the Crusaders baseball team. Coach Shipp coached on the high school level at Cameron Yoe High School and Calhoun High School in Port Lavaca before returning to his alma mater in 1986.
Coach Shipp is married to the former Donna Hacker. They have two sons, Kyle, and Nate. Kyle was a four-year letterman and starting catcher for the Cru baseball team and also spent time as an assistant baseball coach at UMHB. Kyle returned to the coaching staff as a volunteer assistant in 2017. Nate is a graduate of Southwestern University, where he was a four-year letterman for the Pirates baseball team. He now serves as an assistant coach at UMHB. Ben and Donna also have two grandchildren.
