Men's Basketball

The Paben Coaching File

The 2018-19 season marks the 11th season for Shane Paben as the head men's basketball coach at Bellevue University.

In his 10 seasons at the helm of the Bellevue University men’s basketball program, Paben has guided the Bruins to 10-consecutive trips to the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship, including a pair of trips to the Fab Four in 2010 and 2017, a quarterfinal appearance in 2009, and four trips to the Sweet 16 in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.

He has amassed a career record of 256-86 (.749) in his 10 seasons with the Bruins and a 109-29 (.790) mark in conference play. During the 2016-17 season he took over as Bellevue University's career leader in wins with an 84-60 victory over Dickinson State on Feb. 3, 2017.

Paben guided the Bruins to their 10th-consecutive NAIA Division II National Tournament Appearance in 2017-18, earning an at-large berth. BU posted a 21-12 overall mark (11-5 NSAA) and won their NSAA Regular-Season title - the ninth-straight season in which the Bruins have won at least a share of a regular-season conference crown.

In 2016-17 Bellevue swept the North Star's Regular-Season and Tournament Championships. Their 11-5 league mark was good for a share of the regular-season crown and the No. 1 seed in the league tournament where they parlayed their homecourt advantage into wins over Presentation, Dakota State, and Dickinson State and a sixth conference tournament title under Paben's tutelage. The Bruins were seeded sixth in the Duer Bracket where they claimed a first round upset over third-seeded Briar Cliff, exacted revenge on seventh-seeded York in the team's third meeting of the year, and pulled off on overtime win against top-seeded Bethel (Ind.) to reach the program's fourth Final Four.

The Bruins claimed their seventh-straight conference regular season championship in 2015-16, claiming a share of the North Star Athletic Association title in their first season in the league. Bellevue reached the NAIA Division II National Tournament for the 14th-straight year and reached the 20-win plateau for the 16th time in a row, finishing with an overall record of 20-12.

The 2014-15 season saw the Bruins claim their sixth-straight MCAC regular season title, wrapping up the season with a 28-6 overall mark and a No. 14 final national ranking.

Bellevue won its fifth-straight MCAC regular season title in 2013-14 and concluded the season with a 29-6 overall record and a final national ranking of No. 13.

BU finished the 2012-13 season ranked No. 14 in the NAIA after a 24-11 overall record and a win over national runner-up William Penn University.

The 2011-12 Bruins ended the season with a 28-6 record and a 13-1 conference mark. BU also ended the season ranked No. 8 and Paben was named the MCAC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.

In 2010-11, Paben led the Bruins to a final national ranking of No. 4 and to an overall record of 28-6 and 12-2 in conference play.

Picked third in MCAC preseason coaches' poll, Paben earned 2009-10 MCAC Coach of the Year honors after leading Bellevue to the MCAC regular season title with an 11-1 league mark and to the MCAC Tournament championship as well.

After starting the 2009-10 campaign with a 3-6 mark, the Bruins won 25 of their last 27 games, finishing with a 28-8 overall record, which included a 16-game winning streak. During that streak, Bellevue snapped top-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan's 39-game winning streak. The Bruins finished the season with a No. 6 final national ranking.

Making their eighth-straight appearance in the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Championship, Paben guided the Bruins to a semifinal finish, before dropping a 67-66 heartbreaking buzzer-beater to No. 1-seeded Walsh University.

Paben led the Bruins to a quarterfinal appearance at the 2009 NAIA Division II National Tournament in his inaugural campaign. He was one of just two rookie coaches in all divisions to win a game at the national tournament.

Paben came to Bellevue University from Southern Nazarene University where he was the head assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for one season. He helped lead the Crimson Storm to a 23-9 overall record in 2007-08 and a 17-5 mark in the Sooner Athletic Conference. SNU finished the season with a No. 9 final national ranking after advancing to the NAIA Division I National Tournament and posting two wins over the 2008 national champions, Oklahoma City University.

Prior to joining Southern Nazarene, Paben spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Morningside College, where he helped lead the Mustangs to a 67-31 overall record and a 37-17 mark in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. Morningside captured the GPAC Tournament title in 2005-06, advancing to the Elite Eight at the national tournament, while setting a school record with 28 wins. The 67 wins over a three-year span was also a Mustang record.

Paben was also a part of two great road upset wins at Morningside. The Mustangs defeated NCAA Division I South Dakota State in 2004 and eighth-ranked NCAA Division II South Dakota in 2005, snapping the Coyotes 83-game home nonconference winning streak.

Paben began his coaching career at the high school level, serving as a head coach for five years and as an assistant coach for three seasons. As an assistant, he helped lead Beatrice High School to three-straight Nebraska State Tournament semifinal appearances and one state championship in 1998. The 61-12 overall record at Beatrice set a school record for the most wins in any three-year span in school history.

After coaching at Beatrice High School, Paben moved to Afton, Iowa to become the head coach at East Union High School and was able to turn around a program that had little success in its school's history. During his first season at East Union, Paben was able to double the school's win total from the previous year after losing four starters. In the next three seasons, the school was able to win three-straight district championships and make three-straight sub-state appearances, all a first in the school's history. Paben posted a 53-37 overall record at East Union and a school record 47 wins in his final three seasons.

Paben spent one season at Akron-Westfield High School before moving to the college ranks. Akron-Westfield finished with an 11-9 overall record, the school's second winning season in 15 years.

Paben was a two-sport athlete at Nebraska Wesleyan University, competing in both men's basketball and tennis. He graduated from NWU in 1997 with a double major in history and education and a minor in political science. Paben earned a master's degree in history from the University of South Dakota in 2007.

A native of Pickrell, Neb., Paben graduated from Beatrice High School in 1992.

He currently lives in Papillion, Neb. with his wife Dr. Mickie Burns-Paben, their sons Drew and Will, and dog, George.

Updated Sept. 11, 2018