On October 4, 2010, Director of Athletics Susan Petersen Lubow named Danny Nee the next Head Men’s Basketball Coach at the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Nee brings with him an overwhelmingly-impressive resume, including several head coaching positions at Division I powerhouses.

“What a terrific day for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and our Men’s Basketball program! We are thrilled to have Coach Danny Nee as a member of our academy family,” Petersen Lubow commented on the hire. “His expertise on the court and years of experience as a Head Coach bring a level of excitement to our program that I hope catapults us into a successful season.”

Nee, best known for revitalizing the men’s basketball programs at both Ohio University and the University of Nebraska, has coached at the NCAA Division I level for a quarter-century.

Nee has compiled a 410-381 (.518) record in his 26 seasons as a head men’s Division I basketball coach that included stints at Ohio (1980-86), Nebraska (1986-2000), Robert Morris (2000-01) and Duquesne (2001-06). Nee also served as the Director of Player Development at Rutgers after two years as a scout for the National Basketball Association’s Utah Jazz. Most recently, he was an assistant coach at Towson University for the 2009-10 season.

Nee cut his coaching teeth as assistant coach at Notre Dame for four years (1976-80) under the legendary Digger Phelps.

“I look at this as a great opportunity to be a head coach and do what I love. To do it at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, to settle back into the part of the country where I’ve wanted to be with my family, it’s a perfect fit,” Nee said. “The best part of the job is the quality of the players, the quality of the student-athletes here. I’m very impressed with them.”

He received his first head coaching position at Ohio University, where he started his reputation as a program-revitalizer. Nee built a 107-67 (.615) record in his six seasons while guiding the Bobcats to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths (1983 and 1984) and one NIT appearance (1986). He was named Mid-American Coach of the Year twice. His 1982-83 team recorded a program-record 23 wins en route to the Bobcats’ first NCAA appearance in nine seasons. He is a member of the Ohio University Hall of Fame.

Nee became Nebraska’s winningest head coach with his 254-189 (.573) record spanning 14 seasons. Prior to his arrival in Lincoln, the Cornhuskers had participated in one NCAA Tournament in 48 years. Under Nee, Nebraska made 11 post-season appearances that included five NCAA bids and winning the NIT Championship in 1996. His Cornhuskers had seven 20-game winning seasons compared to just four at Nebraska in the previous 98 years.

He also served as head coach at Robert Morris and Duquesne out of the Northeast and Atlantic 10 Conferences, respectively, adding to his experiences of coaching in the MAC and Big Eight.

“To me, Division III is just a number,” Nee commented about his first experience at this level. “The coaching is the same, the athletes want to win. Having my own team again is the best part. I don’t look at recruiting or coaching any differently. I also see the USMMA-Coast Guard rivalry the same as Nebraska-Oklahoma and Towson-Maryland. When we play Coast Guard, it’s going to be fun; it’s going to be loud.”

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Nee was a high school teammate of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at Power Memorial High School. He was a member of the late Al McGuire’s first recruiting class at Marquette. Nee was captain of the Warriors’ freshman team before answering the call to serve his country in the United States Marine Corps. He received Combat Air Insignia Medals and was honorably discharged in 1968 after serving in Vietnam.

Following his two-year tour of duty, Nee resumed his education at St. Mary of the Plains College in Dodge City, Kan. where he earned a degree in English and Physical Education in 1971. He completed work for a Master’s degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation from Kansas State University in 1972.

Nee began his coaching career at the high school level, directing programs at New Jersey’s Red Bank Regional (1972-73) and Brick Township (1973-76) before taking the assistant’s job at Notre Dame where he recruited and coached 10 NBA players.

Nee is married to the former Janet Scheib and is the father of three children – daughter, Nora, and sons, Patrick and Kevin.

On October 14, 2010, Head Men’s Basketball Coach Danny Nee named David Muchnick to his staff as an assistant coach. Muchnick comes from Denison University where he served as the assistant men’s basketball coach from 2008-2010.

“I feel fortunate and lucky that with such a short amount of time and at such a late date, we were able to find such a qualified candidate who has lots of Division III experience and New York roots,” Head Coach Danny Nee said about the hiring of Muchnick. “He will be a tremendous asset to the program as we move forward because of his experiences and talent.”

During his tenure at Denison, Muchnick helped coach a team that saw its conference wins jump from three to seven over his two years. He recruited Dimonde Hale, who won the 2009-10 NCAC Newcomer of the Year award. With the Big Red, Muchnick was responsible for offensive execution, opposition scouting, recruitment and perimeter development. He also served as the Head Men’s Golf Coach at Denison. The Big Red golf team finished in fourth place in the NCAC during 2008-09 and had three Top-3 tournament finishes.

Prior to his time at Denison, Muchnick was the assistant coach at Cortland State University (N.Y.) from 2005-2008. During those trio of seasons, the Red Dragons posted a combined 55-29 record (.655 winning percentage). Cortland finished as the 2005-06 SUNY Athletic Conference Regular Season Champions with a 14-2 record. In that 2005-06 campaign, the Red Dragons tied for the best record in program history (24-5), which culminated in reaching the second round of the 2006 NCAA Division III Tournament. While at SUNY Cortland, Muchnick earned a Master of Science degree in Sports Management in 2008.

Muchnick graduated from SUNY Geneseo in 2005 with a B.A. in Communications. He was a four-year member of the men’s basketball team and served as captain his senior season. He appeared in 65 games for Geneseo. Muchnick finished with a career 41.4% three-point shooting percentage. The four teams he was a part of, posted a combined record of 60-47. With a 20-9 record in 2004, Muchnick’s squad won the ECAC Championship.

A 2001 graduate of Oceanside (N.Y.) High School, Muchnick still holds the school record for three-pointers in one game (8), three-pointers in one season (64), and finished third in career three-pointers (110) and three-point shooting percentage (42.8%). At Oceanside, he was a three-year member of the varsity men’s basketball squad and a two-year starter and captain.

Muchnick currently resides in Oceanside, N.Y.

Peter Lipka enters his second season as the men’s basketball assistant coach at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Lipka came to the Academy after being a four year player at Farmingdale State College

Lipka was a four-year starter and a two-year captain for Farmingdale State. While a player at Farmingdale State, Lipka won two Skyline Conference Championships, was an All-Skyline Selection and was a 1,000 point scorer. In his sophomore season he was named the NCAA Three-point Field Goal Percentage Statistical Champion (55.4%). Lipka also received the 2006 SUNY Chancellor’s Scholar-Athlete Award and then in 2008 received the Chancellor’s Scholar-Athlete Award.

Lipka earned his BS in Business Management in 2008 from Farmingdale State and is currently attending Queens College part-time for his MS in Physical Education and teacher’s certification.

Lipka is a native of Shelton, CT and currently resides in Kings Point, NY.