Mike Nienaber enters his ninth season at Christian Brothers with 121 wins at CBU, fresh off the 2006-07 Gulf South Conference West Division Coach of the Year award. Last year's Bucs went 21-7, finishing in second place in the GSC West, their highest finish since joining the league in 1996-97. They returned to the GSC Tournament for the third time in four years, and for the third straight season, Nienaber coached the GSC West Division Freshman of the Year as Kyle Couvion joined previous winners Nick Kohs and Kevin Weybright. The Bucs' 21 wins were their second-most since joining the NCAA.

The 2003-04 season may have been one of CBU's best. The Bucs finished the season with a 23-6 record. The season also proved special for Nienaber as he won his 300th collegiate game in a 73-55 defeat of West Alabama in December.

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 earned the program's first appearance in the GSC Tournament since joining the league in the 1996-97 season.

A 1977 graduate of Mississippi College, Nienaber holds a BS and an MS degree in History and an MA degree in Education from Murray State University. While at Mississippi College, he lettered four years in basketball under coach Doug Hines.

Nienaber arrived at CBU in September 1999 after 16 successful seasons at Bethel College in McKenzie, Tenn. He guided his Bethel teams to 242 victories, making him the winningest coach in the NAIA school's history. His teams were always respected as overachievers, as his Wildcats posted victories over numerous highly ranked NAIA opponents. 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 at Bethel. He coached five NAIA All-American post players, 22 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. 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.

He has continued his success in developing talent at CBU. He has recruited four of the last seven GSC West Freshmen of the year, and he has coached eight All-GSC players

Nienaber has also upgraded the level of competition the Bucs face every year, facing Division I programs like the University of Memphis, Ole Miss, Ohio, and Troy State. This year's schedule may be the toughest CBU has ever faced. In addition to the exhibition at Memphis, CBU will face regional and national powerhouses such as Findlay, Lynn, Barry, and Montevallo in addition to the GSC schedule and a trek to participate in the AT&T Alascom Jamboree in Anchorage, Alaska.

Nienaber and his wife Vickie have two sons, Michael and Eddie. Michael is a graduate of CBU who is working as a graduate assistant in the sports information department at Delta State, while Eddie is a student assistant with the basketball team.

	Overall		GSC West						GSC West Finish
Year	W	L			W	L
1999-00	12	14			4	8			T-5th
2000-01	11	15			5	11			7th
2001-02	7	19			4	12			9th
2002-03	18	11			9	7			5th
2003-04	23	6			11	5			T-3rd
2004-05	14	13			6	10			7th
2005-06	15	13			9	7			5th
2006-07	21	7			10	4			2nd
Total	121	98			58	64

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