Bryan Bender enters his fourth season as the Director of Operations for Appalachian State men’s basketball after spending the past nine seasons in a variety of roles in the collegiate basketball ranks.

Bender joined the Mountaineers after one season as an assistant coach at Missouri State University-West Plains. In his lone season he helped direct a squad that put West Plains on the map as a perennial recruiting hot bed. Nine players signed National Letters of Intent with Divisions I institutions and the Grizzlies produced three NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) all-region selections, including two of the top 50 junior college players in the nation.

Bender and the rest of the West Plains coaching staff signed 16 players from all over the United States and Europe.  The recruiting class had players from Minnesota, Maryland, Florida, Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia, Massachusetts, Texas, Pennsylvania, Serbia, Poland and the United Kingdom.

In addition to helping guide the Grizzlies to 18 victories on the court, he also guided the program to success in the classroom. As the study hall coordinator Bender’s student-athletes set a record for highest team GPA in school history his first semester on campus and six players earned their associates degree from West Plains.

Prior to his time at MSU-West Plains, Bender spent eight seasons at the University of Minnesota in a variety of roles with the Golden Gophers. During his last three seasons, he served as Minnesota’s video coordinator, overseeing film exchange, student managers and all video duties. He aided in numerous aspects of the program including practice planning, recruiting, academics and scheduling. Prior to being the video coordinator, he spent four seasons as a student manager with the program, including two as the head student manager and film coordinator and was a graduate assistant during the 2009-10 season.

During Bender’s tenure at Minnesota the Gophers made six postseason appearances including three trips to the NCAA Tournament and three more to the NIT. During the 2012-2013 season, the Gophers spent 14 weeks ranked in the top 25, including three weeks in the top 10, and capped off the year with a win over UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Bender also gained valuable experience as part of the support staff for the 2008 USA Basketball U18 Junior National Team, where he worked for legendary Davidson head coach Bob McKillop, and also served as assistant director of the Tubby Smith Basketball Camps for six years.

A native of Cambridge, Wis., Bender holds two degrees from the University of Minnesota, earning his bachelor’s degree in sports management in 2008 before earning his master’s in applied kinesiology with an emphasis in sports management and coaching in 2010. He is married to the former Kristi Ericksen of Brainerd, Minn.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT BRYAN BENDER
“I've had the pleasure to witness the growth of Bryan Bender from a manager, to graduate assistant to our video coordinator at the University of Minnesota. Bryan is a very bright, very hard-working, determined young coach who has represented himself at Minnesota and Missouri State University-West Plains in a very professional manner. He is a great addition to the App State staff and he will help bring the program to the top.”
– University of Memphis head coach Tubby Smith