jgrimes@marian.edu

317.955.6118

Marian University head men's basketball coach John Grimes can be considered an Indiana coaching legend. Entering his 36th season of coaching, Grimes has placed himself as one of the longest tenured and most competitive coaches in the state of Indiana. Grimes has won more than 500 games in his 34 seasons and his 546 victories rank him 13th all-time in NAIA history.

Grimes has devoted his professional life to Marian University with 35 years of coaching and another 26 years as director of athletics. His passion for seeing student-athletes excel on the court and in the classroom has brought him adulation from the Marian University community. Not only is he the winningest coach in any sport at Marian University, but his dedication and commitment to the department of athletics is unquestioned.

In his 35 seasons in charge of the men's basketball program, Grimes has been lauded as Mid-Central College Conference Coach of the Year on five occasions, has earned three MCC regular season titles and two MCC Tournament titles. He has also led the Knights to three appearances at the NAIA National Tournament, including an Elite Eight run in 2000-01 and a Sweet Sixteen run in 2003-04. He has led the Knights to four victories over the NAIA's top-ranked programs and the biggest victory in school history.

The Knights hosted Butler University in 1980 and went on to defeat the Bulldogs by a 58-56 score. Not to mention, the Knights' 91-76 victory over Huntington University, the eventual national runner-up, when the Foresters were ranked in the top five in the nation. MU reached the number two ranking during the 2000-01 season, which is the highest in school history. That season brought the best record, 25-4, in school history and was the second-best finish in the state of Indiana that year.

His leadership has brought Marian University a pair of first-team All-Americans, a pair of second-team All-Americans and two third-team All-Americans. Grimes' passion for defense led the Knights to the fifth-best team defense in 2004 and the ninth-best in 2005.

During his tenure at Marian University, both as head coach and director of athletics, he took the department from six competitive varsity sports to 18 varsity sports by 2005. His career as director of athletics culminated in 2005 when he was named NAIA Region VIII Athletic Director of the Year. retired as director of athletics after the 2004-05 season.

His coaching career began at Olivet College in 1971. He spent six seasons with Olivet as an assistant football and assistant basketball coach.

A native of Terre Haute, Indiana, Grimes graduated from Gerstmeyer High School in 1963. He lettered in three varsity sports: baseball, basketball, and football. His success on the gridiron led him to Indiana State University, where he competed all four years as a tight end and graduated with a bachelor of science in health and physical education in 1968.

Grimes spent the next two years of his life dedicated to the United States as a military policeman in the U.S. Army. He capped his education by earning a master of science in health and physical education in 1971 from ISU. While earning his master's degree, he served as a graduate assistant coach for the Sycamores football program.

Grimes is married to his wife of 34 years and the couple has two adult children and two grandchildren. They reside in Brownsburg, Indiana. 

In his eighth year at Marian University, Scott Fleming is an assistant coach for men's basketball, head softball coach, and co-director of intramural athletics for the department of athletics.

Fleming is one of the most successful head coaches at Marian University and has been a stalwart figure when it comes to Knights men's basketball. He has garnered a 242-109 overall record in eight seasons at the helm of the softball program and has been named Mid-Central College Conference Coach of the Year twice. He has tallied and MCC Tournament championship and, in 2009-10, his first career MCC regular season championship. The Knights finished the 2009-10 season with an all-time best 42-6 overall record, the program's first-ever unblemished 16-0 MCC record, but finished just one spot out of the NAIA National Tournament.

As an assistant basketball coach, Fleming focuses his efforts on the development of the perimeter players as distributors and shooters. As a point guard at Marian University, Fleming ranks as one of the all-time leaders in assists on a team that head coach John Grimes describes as one of his best in all of his years. While his work is not limited to the perimeter players, Fleming also works with the post players on positioning, footwork and finishing at the basket.

During his tenure with Marian University, Fleming also spent seven years as an admission counselor and as an assistant director of admission. He also served as a volunteer coach for men's basketball for six years and for women's basketball for one year. During his six years as head softball coach, Fleming has compiled a record of 101-71.

Fleming, a 1989 graduate of Marian University, is married to Gina, a 1993 graduate of Marian University, and the couple resides in Indianapolis with their two sons.