March 14, 2006
Release courtesy of Matt Turk, Simpson College sports information director

INDIANOLA, IOWA . . . Simpson women's basketball coach Brian Niemuth was chosen by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) as one of its Russell Athletic/WBCA Regional Coach of the Year selections. Niemuth was selected as the NCAA Division III Region 8 (West) Coach of the Year. This is the second time that Niemuth has earned the honor (2000).

Niemuth led the Storm to a 24-5 overall record and a 15-1 mark in the Iowa Conference. The Iowa Conference Coach of the Year, Niemuth led Simpson to its fifth IIAC title in the past nine years. The Storm earned its fourth NCAA Division III Tournament appearance by winning the Iowa Conference Tournament for the third time in the six-year history of the meet. Simpson advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time with a 73-70 victory over St. Benedict Mar. 3. The Storm lost to Wis.-Stout 78-68 Mar. 4 in NCAA Tournament play.

The winners are selected through a two-level process. The first level is by region, in which coaches from each WBCA geographical region vote for their respective top coach. If a coach has been selected as Regional Coach of the Year, they advance as a finalist to the national level of the selection process along with the other Regional Coaches of the Year in their respective division. The number of coaches varies depending on affiliation.

The winners of the WBCA National Coach of the Year for each division will be honored on Tuesday, April 4 at 12 p.m. (ET) during the RUSSELL ATHLETIC/WBCA Coach of the Year Luncheon in the Hynes Convention Center Ballroom, which is part of the 2006 WBCA National Convention. This year the WBCA celebrates it's Silver Anniversary, marking 25 years of existence.

Below are the RUSSELL ATHLETIC/WBCA Regional Coach of the Year winners listed by division:
NCAA Division I
REGION COACH INSTITUTION
Region 1 C. Vivian Stringer Rutgers University
Region 2 Sylvia Hatchell North Carolina
Region 3 Pat Summitt Tennessee
Region 4 Curt Miller Bowling Green State
Region 5 Sherri Coale Oklahoma
Region 6 Jim Wiedie Indiana State
Region 7 Don Flanagan University of New Mexico
Region 8 Charli Thorne Arizona State

NCAA Division II
REGION COACH INSTITUTION
Region 1 Joseph Frager Southern Connecticut St.
Region 2 Steve Harold Glenville State College
Region 3 Joli Robinson North Carolina Central
Region 4 Nyla Milleson Drury University
Region 5 Glenn Wilkes Rollins College
Region 6 Bob Schneider West Texas A & M
Region 7 Gene Roebuck Univ. of North Dakota
Region 8 Marcia Murota Cal. St. Univ. - Los Angeles

NCAA Division III
REGION COACH INSTITUTION
Region 1 Gary Fifield Univ. of Southern Maine
Region 2 Phillip Kahler Saint John Fisher College
Region 3 Deena Applebury Univ. of Mary Washington
Region 4 Michael Strong University of Scranton
Region 5 Carroll LaHaye Randolph-Macon College
Region 6 Kris Huffman DePauw University
Region 7 Nancy Fahey Washington University
Region 8 Brian Niemuth Simpson College

NAIA
REGION COACH INSTITUTION
Region 1 Russ Davis Vanguard University
Region 2 Tracee Fairbanks Doane College
Region 4 Gary Andrews Univ. of Saint Francis
Region 5 Kirk Martin Cedarville University
Region 6 Marty Rowe Lee University

JC/CC
REGION COACH INSTITUTION
Region 2 Seth Goodman Monroe College
Region 3 Michael Holloman Louisburg College
Region 4 Greg Franklin Southeaster Illinois College
Region 5 Kim Muhl Kirkwood CC
Region 6 Trenia Tillis Tyler JC
Region 7 Lin Laursen Central Arizona College
Region 8 Matt Borchert Solano CC
Region 9 Susan Summons Miami-Dade College

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