After inheriting a program that had won just five games in the previous two years, Mike Nienaber has established the Bucs as one of the premier programs in the GSC and the South Region. In the last decade, his Bucs have won 196 games, two GSC regular season championships, two GSC Championships, a South Regional Championship, three GSC Coach of the Year awards, and an NABC South Region Coach of the Year Award.
Nienaber has coached two All-Americans, two GSC Players of the Year, 20 All-GSC players, 17 Academic All-GSC players, seven GSC Freshmen of the Year and a combined 18 NABC and Daktronics All-Region picks. He coached Nick Kohs to a unanimous First-Team All-America selection in 2008-09 as well as GSC and South Region Player of the Year honors. Scott Dennis was an NABC All-American in 2011-12, also earning a share of the GSC Player of the Year award. Trey Casey was a two-time First Team Academic All-America, including the Academic All-America of the Year award in 2014-15.
The Bucs have appeared in the NABC top 25 in nine of the last 12 seasons.
Nienaber's 281 wins are the most at CBU, ahead of longtime Athletics Director Bob Stephenson, and sixth-most in GSC history. His 242 wins in 16 seasons at former VSAC rival Bethel College in McKenzie, Tenn., were the all-time record before he left.
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 under coach Doug Hines.
Nienaber arrived at CBU in September 1999 after 16 successful seasons at Bethel. 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.
Nienaber and his wife Vickie have two sons, Michael and Eddie, both CBU graduates. Michael lives in Cincinnati, while Eddie is an assistant coach with the CBU basketball team.
| Overall | GSC |
Year | W | L | W | L | Place |
1999-00 | 12 | 4 | 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 |
2007-08 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 4 | t-1st |
2008-09 | 25 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 1st |
2009-10 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 5th |
2010-11 | 17 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 5th |
| 2011-12 | 25 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 2nd |
| 2012-13 | 21 | 9 | 13 | 5 | 2nd |
| 2013-14 | 18 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 4th |
| 2014-15 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 7th |
Total | 281 | 175 | 139 | 113 | |
