Just the 14th coach in NCAA Division III men's basketball history to record 600 career victories, Mike Neer begins his 37th season as a head coach with a record of 607-339. He is 44-13 in two seasons with the Statesmen.
In 2012-13, Neer led Hobart to a 21-7 overall record, a Liberty League regular season title with a 15-1 mark, the school's second Liberty League Tournament Championship, and a second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. On Feb. 5, 2013, the Statesmen outlasted Union 85-82 in double overtime to deliver Coach Neer his 600th win. Stefan Thompson '13, the 2013 Liberty League Player of the Year and the first NABC All-American in program history, recorded his 1,500th career point and Richie Bonney '14, a Capital One first team Academic All-American, scored his 1,000th career point against the Dutchmen.
Following the season, Hobart was presented with the Eastern Upstate New York Collegiate Basketball Officials Association's Schoenfeld Sportsmanship Award for the third year in a row.
Neer, the former University of Rochester head coach, ended a one-year retirement to return to the hardwood with the Statesmen for the 2011-12 season. He led Hobart to a record-setting 23-6 mark in his first year at the helm. The Statesmen eclipsed the program records for wins in a season and winning percentage (.793) while capturing the Liberty League regular season championship with a 14-2 league record. Hobart earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and advanced to the second round after a 64-60 win over Ohio Wesleyan. The Statesmen took eventual national runner-up Cabrini to overtime before falling 90-88.
Neer and his staff were named the 2012 Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year. In addition, D3hoops.com tabbed Neer the East Region Coach of the Year.
Neer ranks sixth in NCAA Division III active men’s basketball coaches for the most career victories.The Yellowjackets’ career wins leader, Neer led Rochester to 12 NCAA tournament appearances, including four trips to the Final Four, three championship games, and the 1990 national championship. When he retired following the 2009-10 season, he boasted a 563-326 record (.633).
At the 2011 National Association of Basketball Coaches, Neer received the NABC’s Outstanding Service Award. A three-time University Athletic Association Coach of the Year, he was voted the NABC Division III National Coach of the Year in 1990. His Rochester teams were honored four times with the Sam Schoenfeld Award for outstanding sportsmanship as selected by members of the Western New York State chapter of the College Basketball Officials Association (CBOA). In the spring of 2010, CBOA presented its national Sam Schoenfeld Award to the University.
In 1992, Neer received the Elliott Cushing Award from the Rochester Press-Radio Club for the local person who has excelled on a national level. The award came after Rochester's three-year run in the NCAA Division III tournament that resulted in a national championship (1990), an Elite 8 appearance (1991), and a national runner-up finish (1992).
Neer has mentored eight All-Americans and eight CoSIDA Academic All-Americans®.
While a lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Reserves, Neer began his coaching career at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he served as an assistant coach for five seasons.
A 1970 graduate of Washington and Lee University, Neer earned a master’s degree in education from Rochester in 1988.
