Phil Kopinski joined the Scarlet Hawks women's cross country program as head coach in 2003. Since his arrival at Illinois Tech, the women's team has seen significant improvement including a team conference runner-up, and three third-place finishes in the CCAC. A 1994 graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Kopinski was a four-year letter winner at UIC where he helped lead the Flames to their best-ever finish at the Mid-Continent Conference Championships in 1991.

Before joining Illinois Tech, he spent nine years working as a Certified Athletic Trainer at the high school, college, and clinical settings as well as the head ATC in professional sports for six of them, two years in the Arena Football League (CHI), and four seasons in the United Hockey League (WSM,MUSK). Kopinski also serves as IIT's head Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC/L), overseeing the conditioning and rehabilitation of the university's intercollegiate athletes.

Phil and his wife Joan are both Chicagoland natives who still reside in the near west suburbs.