INDIANAPOLIS – Two-time NAIA national championship winning coach Steve Brooks will be named Marian University’s ninth head women’s basketball coach, Director of Athletics Steve Downing announced today.
Brooks brings a deep NAIA coaching background to Marian University, entering his 22nd season as a women’s basketball head coach. Brooks has a career record of 567-163 and is the sixth active winningest head coach in the NAIA. Twice a national champion while at Indiana Wesleyan University, Brooks was named WBCA/NAIA National Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2012.
“Coach Brooks’ record speaks for itself,” said Steve Downing. “He knows something about winning, and that’s why he’s a great fit for Marian University. We’re excited to have him here, and I look forward to him bringing his history of excellence to the championship culture that exists within this program.”
Prior to Marian, Brooks served as the head coach at the University of Saint Francis (Ill.) from 2017-2021, leading the Fighting Saints to 98 wins in four seasons. While there, USF reached the NAIA national tournament every season, advancing to the quarterfinal in 2018, and reaching the round of 16 on three occasions. Brooks led the Fighting Saints to a third place finish or better in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference each year, with USF claiming the CCAC regular season championship and a #17 NAIA Division II ranking in the 2018-19 season. In the 2019-20 season, Brooks led USF to a CCAC conference tournament championship, 18-2 CCAC regular season record, and #8 national ranking. Brooks was named CCAC Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2021. USF produced six NAIA All-Americans, 17 NAIA Scholar-Athletes, nine CCAC All-Conference selections, and one CCAC Player of the Year under his leadership.
At Indiana Wesleyan University, Brooks and the Wildcats won the NAIA Division II national championship in 2007 and 2013. The 2007 team recorded a perfect 38-0 record, becoming the first team in NAIA Women’s Basketball Division II history to do so. The Wildcats won 56 consecutive games from 2007-2008, holding the #1 national ranking for a NAIA DII record 37 weeks. He was named WBCA/NAIA National Coach of the Year twice, in 2007 and 2012.
Indiana Wesleyan racked up 10 Crossroads League/Mid-Central Conference regular season championships and six tournament titles with Brooks at the helm, reaching the NAIA national tournament in 14 consecutive seasons. Brooks’ success in the Crossroads League during his time at IWU went unmatched, as he recorded a 212-61 record against conference foes, and was named CL/MCC Coach of the Year seven times. There, Brooks coached 15 NAIA All-Americans, 22 NAIA Scholar-Athletes, and 25 all-conference players.
Brooks coached on the men’s side as an assistant at Taylor University (1983-86, 1993-99) and head coach at Houghton College in New York (1986-93). He also served as Taylor University’s Assistant Athletic Director (1993-96, 1997-99) and Interim Athletic Director (1996-97). Brooks graduated from Taylor University in 1980.
Brooks will inherit a Marian team that is coming off of a 27-6 record and 16-0 mark in Crossroads League play, with the Knights having won their sixth consecutive Crossroads League regular season championship. Marian has reached the NAIA tournament in each of the last seven seasons, winning back to back NAIA Division II National Championships in 2015-16 and 2016-17. The Knights have won 27 games or more in each of the last seven seasons, and have won 30 or more games four times.
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