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Mike
Nienaber
Men's Basketball Head Coach
1999-Present
6th Season
(901) 321-3372
mnienabe@cbu.edu
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Coach Mike Nienaber had what could have been the best season
ever, at least mathematically, for any Christian Brothers
University men's basketball team. The 2003-04 Buccaneers
finished the season with a 23-6 record. The season also proved
special for Nienaber as the coach won his 300th collegiate
game in a 73-55 defeat of West Alabama on December 13, 2003.
After starting the
season on a sizzling 13-game winning streak that included
a road win at Division I Troy State, the Bucs found themselves
in the Division II National Poll at No. 15. The team went
as high as No. 4 nationally and eventually ended the season
ranked No. 19 in the country. They also finished the regular
season with the program's first-ever appearance in the
Gulf South Conference Tournament.
A 1977 graduate of Mississippi College, Nienaber holds
a BS and an MS degree in History and also an MA degree in
Education from Murray State University.
While at Mississippi College, he lettered all four years
in basketball under, Doug Hines.
After graduating in 1977, he assisted Coach Hines’ 1977-78
Gulf South Conference champions, a team that was ranked as
high as 8th in NCAA Division II. The following year Nienaber
took over the reins as head coach at Clinton High School
in
Mississippi. In his five years at Clinton, he completely
turned around a basketball program that had been down for
twenty
years. His 1981-82 Clinton team, finished 25-7 and was ranked
as high as sixth in the Mississippi High School polls. During
his last years at Clinton, Nienaber guided his team to two
consecutive twenty-plus victory seasons, finishing 21-13
while
winning three major tournament championships which ended
up being the first twenty win seasons at Clinton High since
1960.
Nienaber arrived at Christian Brothers University in
September 1999, after 16 successful seasons at Bethel College
in McKenzie, Tennessee where he guided his teams to 242 victories,
making him the winningest coach in Bethel history. His teams
were always respected as overachievers, as his Wildcats posted
upset victories over highly ranked NAIA opponents in each
of his 16 seasons. Nienaber’s victims included perennial
NAIA powerhouses David Lipscomb, Belmont, and Union, as well
as top-flight NCAA programs at Northern Kentucky, North Alabama,
and Tennessee State.
In addition to team success, Nienaber’s players also
earned plenty of individual recognition. He coached five
NAIA
All-American post players, 20 All-Conference selections,
and 9 NAIA Academic All-Americans. The academic success of
his
players is further reflected by the 87.5% graduation rate
during his 16 years at Bethel College. In recognition of
the
accomplishments of his teams on and off the floor, coach
Nienaber was inducted into the Bethel College Athletic Hall-of-Fame
in November 2002.
Nienaber has also upgraded the level of competition
the Bucs face every year, facing Division I programs like
the
University of Memphis, Ole Miss, and Troy State. This year,
the team will also renew a rivalry with the Memphis Tigers
opening up the brand new FedEx Forum in an exhibition game
on November 6.
The 2004-05 season will be Nienaber’s sixth at
Christian Brothers University. He and his wife Vickie have
two sons, Michael and Eddie.
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