Pennsylvania State University, Erie, the Behrend Men's Basketball

Niland enters his 23rd season guiding the Behrend Lions program. Niland has produced 22 consecutive winning seasons to rank 20th among NCAA Division III programs for winningest teams of the decade. The Lions also have earned an NCAA or ECAC postseason bid in 20 of the past 21 years. Niland is the all-time leader in men's basketball coaching victories with 431 entering this season. The last two seasons, the Lions cracked the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll after posting a 45-8 combined record. Behrend finished 21-6 last year and earned a bid to the ECAC South Region Tournament.  In 2013-14, Niland mentored Behrend to its second-straight AMCC Championship and seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Lions finished 24-5 overall and 15-3 in conference play. Behrend were named the AMCC Regular-Season Champions, before capturing the conference tournament and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Lions have advanced to the NCAA Tournament three of the last five years. Behrend has also made 11 appearances in the  ECAC South Region Tournament, winning the title in 1998-99 and 2009-10.  Niland has been named the AMCC Coach of the Year seven times a league and college record. His teams have won seven regular-season league titles and five conference tournament championships. In 2008-09, the men's basketball team forged a record of 18-10 and earned its third ECAC Tournament bid. The previous year, Niland led the Behrend Lions to an impressive 24-5 record, as the team captured the regular-season AMCC championship and the conference tournament before eventually falling in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Rochester, New York. That squad's defensive prowess was recognized for the second time in four seasons, as Behrend led Division III in scoring defense, limiting the opposition to a measly 54.6 points per game.   During the 2006-07 season, Niland's team posted an impressive 21-8 mark and advanced to the ECAC Southern Region Tournament Championship Game. The year before, coach Niland's program received the Schoenfeld Award, the highest honor the Collegiate Basketball Officials Association (COBA) bestows each year. This coveted award is presented to the team identified as having "the highest degree of sportsmanship, character, and ethics among their players, coaches and spectators." His 2003-04 team led all of Division III in scoring defense and posted a 22-3 record entering the NCAA Tournament. The 1999-2000 team had the best season in school history, setting the school record for wins with 26 while advancing to the NCAA Elite Eightthe first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance for men's basketball. Also, in 1998-99, his squad earned the ECAC Southern Region Championship.  Niland came to Behrend after spending four seasons as an assistant coach at Canisius College and one season at Elmira College. He was a four-year letterman and captain during his senior year as a basketball standout at LeMoyne College. He earned his master's degree in physical education from Canisius and is now also a lecturer in health and physical education at Penn State Behrend.

Bio RJ Marsh is in his second season on Dave Niland's coaching staff as a full-time assistant for the men's basketball program. Marsh was a five-year player under Niland and graduated with a bachelor's in project and supply chain management and a bachelor's degree in management information systems. From 2019-24, he started 81 of 86 games played and averaged 7.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. He was a four-time selection to the conference All-Academic Team and represented Behrend as an Honors Court selection for outstanding achievement in the classroom, helping the team garner the 2023-24 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Team Academic Excellence Award.

Bio Owen Minford was a two-year member of the Behrend men's basketball team before transitioning to a student assistant role during the 2024-25 season.