Last updated: May 31, 2026·🔄 Guide reviewed and refreshed ahead of Halloween 2026.· By Seckin Peker

Halloween Costume Guide

Ben Hopkins From Hoops Halloween Costume Guide

Blue tracksuit. Losing record. Inexplicable devotion to a Jodie Foster film from 1991.
Animated Comedy Netflix Tracksuit
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Quick Answer: Ben Hopkins is a blue tracksuit build. The VHS tape is the one item that makes the character specific rather than generic.
  • Blue Training Jacket (essential)
  • Blue Fleece Jogger (essential)
  • Little Man Tate VHS Tape
  • White Sneakers
  • Horseshoe Brooch
  • Black Eyebrow Pencil

Ben Hopkins coaches the Lenwood Colts into losses with impressive consistency and handles the stress by screaming at everyone while wearing a blue tracksuit. The tracksuit is the whole costume. The Little Man Tate VHS tape is the one detail that separates it from generic athletic wear and immediately explains the character to anyone who watched the show. Hoops is a Netflix animated comedy series that premiered on August 21, 2020 and was cancelled after one season (Wikipedia). Recognition at a general Halloween party is limited to people who specifically went looking for it.

Items Total6 Items
DifficultyEasy
VibeAngry Losing Coach
Cost$30–$80

Ben Hopkins Halloween Costume Items

Ben Hopkins from Hoops Halloween costume infographic showing blue training jacket, blue fleece jogger, Little Man Tate VHS tape, horseshoe brooch, black eyebrow pencil, and white sneakers

Ben Hopkins Costume Items

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Ben Hopkins Hoops Coach Netflix
  • 1 Blue Training Jacket (essential)Ben Hopkins wears this in nearly every scene of the show. It needs to be plain blue with no logos, stripes, or fashion details. The jacket and the jogger need to match closely enough to read as a set. Order this first, check the shade in real light, and match the jogger to it before ordering both.
    See on Amazon
  • 2 Blue Fleece Jogger (essential)Must match the jacket shade closely. Two slightly different blues look like someone grabbed whatever was available. One consistent blue looks like a man who has worn the same tracksuit for several years without questioning it, which is accurate.
    See on Amazon
  • 3 Little Man Tate VHS TapeThe most character-specific item in this build. Ben Hopkins’ obsession with this 1991 Jodie Foster family drama is a running gag through the whole season, and it is the one detail that makes this costume land as a specific character rather than just a man in a blue tracksuit. Carry it visibly in your hand the entire evening. It works better as an ever-present fixture than as something you produce when asked.
    See on Amazon
  • 4 Horseshoe BroochA small character detail pinned to the jacket lapel. It costs almost nothing and only people who have watched the show will place it, but that is a fine ratio for a prop that weighs nothing and requires no effort to carry.
    See on Amazon
  • 5 Black Eyebrow PencilDefine the brows more heavily than usual to match the animated character’s look. One pass is enough. The goal is slightly more defined, not theatrical.
    See on Amazon
  • 6 White SneakersCheck your closet first. Plain white sneakers are almost certainly already there.
    See on Amazon
Ben Hopkins from Hoops costume reference showing the blue tracksuit, white sneakers, and character details used to build the Coach Hopkins Halloween look

How to Style the Ben Hopkins Halloween Costume

The jacket and jogger shade need to match before you leave the house. Two slightly different blues read as someone who grabbed whatever was available. One consistent blue reads as someone who has worn the same tracksuit for years and sees no reason to stop. The VHS tape should be in your hand from the moment you arrive, not produced mid-conversation as an explanation. If it only appears when someone asks who you are, it is a prop. If it is just there, it is a character detail.

In the pilot, Hopkins gets ejected from his own team’s game before the episode is three minutes old, then gathers the Lenwood Colts and tells them earnestly that his problem is he cares too much and he loves coaching them. The team loses the game afterward. That gap between what he says and what he is — and the fact that he does not seem to notice it — is what makes the character work at a party.

Check the blue shades before ordering both pieces

Product photos for athletic wear are notoriously inconsistent on screen. A jacket listed as “cobalt” and joggers listed as “royal blue” may look identical on the product page and completely different in a room with actual lighting. Order the jacket first, see it in person, then match the jogger shade to it. This adds a few days to the build and saves you from spending the party explaining that it is supposed to be a matching set.

The VHS tape earns its place at the party

Most costume props are things you carry until someone notices them. The Little Man Tate tape is different because the explanation for why Ben Hopkins carries it is genuinely funny, and it prompts a real conversation instead of a polite nod. Anyone who watched Hoops will laugh immediately. Anyone who has not watched it will have a specific question. Either way, you have something to talk about. That is more than most props manage.

Ben Hopkins Group Halloween Costume Ideas

Couples Idea

Ben Hopkins & Shannon (Hoops)

Might work, but only if both people have watched the show and can commit to the dynamic: divorced couple who cannot stop being in each other’s lives, currently in the process of one of them finally moving on. Shannon’s costume needs to be built from reference images since there is no CostumeRealm page. If only one person in the pair knows who they are, the couple reads as unrelated.

Ben Hopkins Shannon

Duo Idea

Ben Hopkins & Little Man Tate

Might work, but this is the deepest-cut duo concept on this page. One person comes as Hopkins with the VHS tape in hand; the other dresses as Fred Tate, the child prodigy from the 1991 Jodie Foster film. The joke only lands for people who watched the show and specifically remember the running gag. At a general party, plan to explain both halves of it to almost everyone you talk to. Worth attempting if the group finds it funny without needing the explanation. Not worth it if you have to sell them on the concept.

Ben Hopkins Little Man Tate

Group Idea: Hoops Cast

Ben Hopkins, Shannon, Ron, Barry Hopkins & Matty

Might work, but none of the other four characters have CostumeRealm pages, every costume needs to be sourced or built from reference images, and the audience who will recognize a full Hoops group at a Halloween party in 2026 is small. This works at a Hoops fan gathering or among a group of friends who all watched the show. At any general party, plan to spend more time explaining who everyone is than receiving recognition.

Ben Hopkins Shannon Ron Barry Hopkins Matty

Group Idea: Iconic Comedic & Incompetent Authority Figures

Ben Hopkins, Michael Scott, Ron Burgundy, Kenny Powers & Ted Lasso

Strong group because the concept is immediately readable even if someone does not know every character. Michael Scott and Ron Burgundy are recognized across age groups. Ted Lasso has strong current recognition. Kenny Powers requires some Eastbound & Down knowledge. Ben Hopkins is the most niche of the five, which means he gets the most explanation, but the group theme is clear enough that the audience does not need to place every character to understand what everyone is doing.

Ben Hopkins Michael Scott Ron Burgundy Kenny Powers Ted Lasso
Ben Hopkins from Hoops group and solo Halloween costume reference showing the blue tracksuit coach look from the Netflix animated series

Ben Hopkins Halloween Costume DIY Tips

Building the Look

This is one of the simpler builds on the site. No armor, no wig, no complicated props. The only real challenge is making the blue tracksuit read as intentional rather than accidental, and sourcing the VHS tape.

  • Blue jacket and jogger: order the jacket first, confirm the shade in real lighting, then match the jogger. Same-shade-from-the-same-brand is the safest option.
  • White sneakers: check your closet. Skip the purchase unless you genuinely do not own a pair.
  • Little Man Tate VHS tape: this is the one item worth tracking down specifically. It is the costume’s punchline and its explanation at the same time.
  • Horseshoe brooch: cheap and easy. Pin it to the jacket lapel and leave it there.
  • Eyebrow pencil: one pass to define, not a dramatic redraw. The animated character has clear brows. A slightly heavier definition than usual is enough.
  • Total build time: under an hour if the tracksuit arrives matching. The only version of this costume that takes longer is the one where you order the jacket and jogger separately without checking the shades first and then have to find a replacement.

Playing Ben Hopkins at the Party

Hopkins is angry at most things, fiercely devoted to a small number of things he cannot fully explain, and genuinely convinced that he cares more than he actually does. The key is that he believes every word he says in the moment he says it.

  • When someone starts explaining something you did not ask about: “Boring!” Cut them off cleanly and move on. Do not explain the catchphrase. If they ask, tell them it is just a thing you do.
  • When someone asks who you are: hold up the VHS tape. “Little Man Tate. 1991. Jodie Foster.” Say it like that is a complete answer, because for Ben Hopkins, it is.
  • The pilot speech works any time the evening is not going well: “My problem is, I care too much.” Deliver it with complete sincerity. The joke is the sincerity.
  • Hopkins is loudest in the moments where he is most wrong about something. That is a useful party setting to practice.

Ben Hopkins Halloween Costume: FAQ

The blue tracksuit does most of the work. A blue training jacket over blue fleece joggers and white sneakers is the base. Carry the Little Man Tate VHS tape visibly from the start of the night. The horseshoe brooch and defined brows are the details Hoops fans will recognize.

This is a niche pick. Hoops ran for one season on Netflix in 2020 before being cancelled, and its audience was never large. At a general Halloween party, most people will see a man in a blue tracksuit. The Little Man Tate VHS tape helps explain the costume faster than any introduction would.

His most sincere moment comes in the pilot: “My problem is, I care too much. I love basketball and I love this team. Right here. I love you guys. I love coaching you guys.” The team then loses the game anyway. His everyday catchphrase is simpler: when someone starts sharing a personal problem, he shouts “Boring!” and cuts them off. He describes it as “just a thing I do when I’m bored, like a catchphrase for boring stuff.”

Ben Hopkins is voiced by Jake Johnson, known for playing Nick Miller in New Girl and voicing Peter B. Parker in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Johnson described the character’s arc simply: “Coach wants his ex back and he wants to prove his dad wrong. And in that, let’s get as many jokes as we can.”

Little Man Tate is a 1991 family drama directed by Jodie Foster about a child prodigy named Fred Tate. Ben Hopkins is inexplicably obsessed with it. The joke is the contrast: a foul-mouthed, anger-management-failing basketball coach who considers a soft, earnest Jodie Foster drama his cinematic touchstone. He bonds with his anger management counselor over it. He produces the tape with the enthusiasm most people reserve for things that are actually relevant to their lives.

No. Netflix cancelled Hoops after one season in 2020. The show premiered on August 21, 2020 and was not renewed. The Lenwood Colts never got a resolution, which is fitting given their season record.

Any time someone begins to share a personal problem, Hopkins shouts “Boring!” and cuts them off mid-sentence. He describes it as “just a thing I do when I’m bored, like a catchphrase for boring stuff.” It is both a character trait and a surprisingly useful tool at a loud Halloween party where conversations need an exit.