jgrimes@marian.edu

317.955.6118

The first word that comes to mind when thinking about Marian University men's basketball head coach John Grimes is tradition. Entering his 34th season, he has devoted his life to Marian University and is seen as one of the top coaches in the state of Indiana. The 2007-08 season brought his 500th career victory and well-deserved adulation within the Marian University community.

Grimes joined the Marian University community as its head men's basketball coach in 1976. He has been lauded as MCC Coach of the Year on five occasions. He has led the Knights to three MCC regular season titles and two MCC Tournament championships. His career record of 506-356 includes three appearances in the NAIA Division II national championships. The 2000-01 team earned a berth in the NAIA Division II Elite Eight.

In his 33 seasons at the helm, Grimes has led the Knights to four victories over the NAIA's top-ranked teams and the biggest victory in program history. The Knights hosted Butler in 1980 and went on to defeat the Bulldogs, 58-56. The Knights were the NAIA's second-ranked team under Grimes' guidance in 2000-01, 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.

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

During his tenure at Marian University, Grimes also spent 26 years as the director of athletics. In this time frame, he took a relatively small athletic department with only six sports to a program that branched into 18 highly-competitive varsity sports by 2005. His career as director of athletics culminated in 2005 when he was selected as the NAIA Region VIII Athletic Director of the Year.

Grimes began his career in coaching 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. At Gerstmeyer, Grimes lettered in three varsity sports: baseball, basketball, and football. His success on the gridiron led him to the Indiana State University Sycamores, where he competed for 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, he was a graduate assistant coach for the Sycamore football program.

Grimes resides in Brownsburg, Ind., with his wife. The couple has two adult children.