Latonia native, Holmes graduate Brian Neal named women’s basketball head coach at Wittenberg

NKyTribune staff

Latonia native Brian Neal has been named the head coach of the Wittenberg University women’s basketball program.

Neal, a graduate of Holmes High School and Northern Kentucky University, will take over a Wittenberg program that posted a 19-8 overall record last season. The Tigers finished 11-5 in the North Coast Athletic Conference.

“Wittenberg is a special place and I’m humbled to join an institution with such rich academic and athletic traditions,” Neal said. “I look forward to leading the Wittenberg women’s basketball program and working to develop our student-athletes to their fullest potential.”

Wittenberg is an NCAA Division III member, and Neal built a powerhouse program at that level during a seven-year stint at Thomas More.

Neal posted a 171-31 (.847) overall record at Thomas More with six consecutive 20-win seasons and five consecutive Presidents’ Athletic Conference championships. He was a four-time recipient of the PAC Coach of the Year Award and was twice named the Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year.

The Saints made five straight NCAA Division III Tournament appearances during Neal’s tenure. In 2010-11, Thomas More earned the school’s first-ever No. 1 ranking and posted the program’s second undefeated regular season in four years while advancing to the “Sweet 16” of the NCAA Division III Tournament for the second time in three seasons.

In March of 2011, he was named the Russell Athletics/WBCA Region Six Division III Coach of the Year.

Before taking over the reins at Thomas More, Neal was an assistant coach at NKU for six seasons under head coach Nancy Winstel. While Neal was at NKU, the Norse compiled a six-year record of 156-36 (.813) and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament each season with the school’s first-ever national championship coming in 2000.

NKU made two national title game appearances and four Elite Eight appearances with Neal on staff to go along with six Great Lakes Valley Conference titles.

Neal spent the last nine seasons at the NCAA Division I level, which included a six-year stint as the head coach at Xavier. Neal served as an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois last season.

Dr. Gary Williams, Wittenberg’s Vice President and Director of Athletics and Recreation, said Neal brings a combination of experience and proven success that made the Latonia native a perfect choice.

“From the first day of our search process, I challenged the committee to find a leader who could do four things,” Williams said. “The first, to build a strong sense of community with our current women’s basketball team and our department. The second, to find someone who could win the recruiting battles in our backyard and make our program and University a destination for top recruits.

“The third, was to honor and preserve the people, tradition and history of excellence our women’s basketball team and athletic department is known for. The final was to prepare our team and program to compete on a national level.

“I am extremely pleased that we have found someone who not only has these skills, but also the right combination of proven success with a commitment to our university and department values.”

Neal began his coaching career at the Division III level as an assistant coach at Wilmington College from 1992-98. With the Quakers, he was an assistant under head coach Jerry Scheve for a team that posted back-to-back 20-win campaigns in his final two seasons.

Neal graduated from NKU in May of 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism with an English minor. Neal and his wife, Amy, reside in Taylor Mill and have four children, Allison (23), Madison (22), Emma (16) and Max (13).