Bio

Niemuth's Credentials

• Completed 37th season as head coach in 2023-24
• 679 career wins
• 413 career conference wins, most in league history
• 13 Conference Championships
• 12 NCAA Tournament Appearances
• 3 NCAA Sweet 16 Appearances

Career Honors & Awards

• 9x Conference Coach of the Year
• 3x WBCA District Coach of the Year
• 2x D3hoops.com Coach of the Year
• 2013 D3hoops.com West Region Coach of the Year

In the Division III Record Books (through 2021-22)

• 7th most wins among active coaches
• 30th highest winning percentage among active coaches (.702)
• t-16th most wins all-time 

In the All-Divisions Record Books (through 2021-22)

• 23rd most wins among active coaches
• t-23rd most seasons with one team

Bio

In 37 years on the sidelines, Brian Niemuth has transformed the women’s basketball program at Simpson into one of the most well-respected in the American Rivers Conference, the region and the nation. Niemuth’s up-tempo, full-court style of play produces points – and wins – in bunches.

Niemuth stepped down as Simpson's Athletic Director after running the department from 2013-18. Under Niemuth, the coaching staff built team rosters that encompassed more than 40 percent of all Simpson College students. He also oversaw athletic fundraising activities that generated more than $200,000 annually in support of athletics programs.

The 2023-24 season marked Niemuth’s 37th year at the helm. Since taking over in 1987, the Storm are 679-298 under Niemuth, winning 13 conference titles, eight conference tournament championships and making 12 NCAA Tournament appearances. He owns nine Conference Coach of the Year awards, three Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) District Coach of the Year awards and two D3hoops.com West Region Coach of the Year award. He led the Storm to Sweet 16 appearances in 2007, 2008 and 2013.

Niemuth guided the Storm to a perfect 12-0 season in 2020-21 after the campaign was shortened due to COVID-19. He earned A-R-C and D3hoops.com Coach of the Year honors, while Jenna Taylor was named to the WBCA and D3hoops.com All-American First Teams, in addition to taking home the CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year for Women's Basketball; the first in program history.

Entering the 2022-23 season, Niemuth ranked seventh among active Division III coaches with 649 wins and was tied for 16th in Division III history. The winningest coach in the history of women’s basketball at Simpson, Niemuth won the 600th game of his career against Millikin on Dec. 21, 2019 (76-69) to win the Millikin Holiday Classic.

Niemuth fielded one of the finest Simpson teams ever in 2012-13, guiding the Storm to a school-record tying 27 wins, an Iowa Conference Championship, a trip to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament and climbing as high as No. 6 in the USA Today/WBCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. He also added to his list of individual achievements, becoming the 20th women's basketball coach in NCAA Division III history to reach the 500-win mark when Simpson beat Loras 75-62 on Feb. 9. He earned Iowa Conference Coach of the Year honors, D3hoops.com West Region Coach of the Year honors and saw senior forward, Kate Nielsen, take home Iowa Conference Player of the Year honors. Nielsen also became the first Simpson women's basketball player to be named as a finalist for WBCA Division III Player of the Year.

The 2011-12 season was another one of milestones for Niemuth, who became the winningest coach in Iowa Conference play when he picked up No. 294 in a win over Wartburg on Jan. 21, passing legendary Luther coach Jane Hildebrand (293 IIAC wins in 27 seasons from 1984-2011). He went on to earn his 300th league win Feb. 15 when Simpson beat Central 81-63, clinching the conference title. At season’s end, Niemuth took home Iowa Conference Coach of the Year honors for the sixth time in his illustrious career.

In addition to performing on the floor, Niemuth’s teams also excel in the classroom. Simpson makes an annual appearance on the WBCA’s Academic Top 25 Honor Roll, ranking first in the Iowa Conference and fifth in the nation with a 3.559 team GPA in 2012-13. Simpson led the Iowa Conference and ranked in the top-10 nationally in team GPA for six straight seasons.

In a career full of conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances, it is difficult to decipher one as the best. But in 1999, Niemuth’s Storm achieved a feat unequaled in the history of the conference, going a perfect 20-0 during league play. Simpson has been ranked as high as No. 2 in both the USA Today/WBCA Division III and D3hoops.com polls during Niemuth’s tenure.

Prior to his arrival at Simpson, Niemuth served as an assistant basketball coach at Park College in Kansas City, Mo. for two years; one with the men’s team and one with the women’s team. He was an assistant coach at Dallas Center-Grimes (Iowa) High School. Niemuth also served as an assistant baseball coach for Simpson from 1991-1997.

The Kansas City, Mo. native was an all-conference player and team co-captain for two years at Park. He also earned honorable mention All-American honors in baseball for Park after beginning his baseball career at the University of Missouri. 

Niemuth received his bachelor’s degree from Grand View College in 1988 and earned his master’s degree in sports management at Iowa State University during the summer of 1997.

Brian and his wife, Beth, reside in Altoona, Iowa. Their daughter, Brooke, is a 2015 Simpson graduate.

Year-by-Year at Simpson