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Turner, a 1979 graduate of David Lipscomb University, is now in his 11th season as the head coach of the Bulldogs. Coach Turner has led the Bulldogs to six NAIA National Tournaments in his 10 years as head coach. Turner’s career coaching record at Â鶹ÊÓƵ University is 238-107. Turner has led the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Bulldogs to three TranSouth Regular Season and Tournament Championships (1998, 1999, 2002) in his 10 years as head coach.

Turner began his coaching career at the junior high and high school level in Georgia and Tennessee before moving to the collegiate level at Oklahoma Christian University. Returning to his Alma Mater, Turner served as an assistant coach at Lipscomb for nine years, winning an NAIA National Championship in 1986. Then in 1994, Turner accepted his first college head coaching position at Â鶹ÊÓƵ University. In his career, he has coached college basketball’s all-time leading scorer, all-time assists leader, all-time steals leader, and all-time leading shot blocker. He has coached 26 NAIA All-Americans in his career and has had 13 players to take their talents to the professional level.

In addition to his coaching duties at Â鶹ÊÓƵ University, he serves on the USA Basketball Selection Committee. This committee selects players to represent the United States in the World Games, Pan-Am Games, and other International events. Turner also takes his knowledge of basketball to the national level by serving on the NAIA Championship Tournament Committee that organizes the men’s national basketball tournament in Kansas City, Missouri. Turner also is on the NAIA All-American Committee. He is also the NAIA National Rater for the TranSouth Conference.

Under the guidance of Turner, summer basketball camps at Â鶹ÊÓƵ University have continued to grow. Through Turner’s hard work and dedication, Â鶹ÊÓƵ averages over 1,500 boys and girls during the camps.

Turner’s goal for the men’s basketball program is more than concentrating on the score of a game. His desire is to not only see that his players be a part of the best teams that Â鶹ÊÓƵ has ever had, but for those individuals to be the best people Â鶹ÊÓƵ has ever had.

He and wife, Sherrie, have two daughters, Andrea, a freshman at Â鶹ÊÓƵ, and Allison, a junior at Jackson Christian School.

David Niven, a 1996 graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University, begins his eighth season as an assistant coach for the Bulldogs after spending the 1996-97 season as an assistant coach at Oklahoma Baptist. In his first two seasons at Â鶹ÊÓƵ, Niven served as a volunteer assistant coach, and then became full-time in 1999.

During his time at Â鶹ÊÓƵ, Niven has assumed the responsibility of coordinating the recruiting efforts for the Bulldogs. He has recruited and signed numerous All-Americans, as well as, the 2002 NAIA Player of the Year, but the statistic he is most proud of is the 22 recruits that have graduated during his time as their academic advisor.

Niven spent his playing career at OBU and finished with a four-year career record 121-24. In those four years, he played on teams that were ranked No. 1 in the NAIA, advanced to the NAIA National Championship game, and two Final Fours. He also became the first player to help lead the Bison to four consecutive national tournaments. While at OBU in 1997, as assistant coach for the Bison, Niven received his Master of Education degree from East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. He received valuable coaching experience as the Bison went 36-4 and made it to the 1997 NAIA National Championship Finals.

Niven is married to the former Mandy Beth Wells of Sallisaw, Oklahoma.