Coach Brian Joyce finishes his 4th season as Head Coach (7th overall at NJC) of the Plainsmen after three successful seasons assisting NJCAA Hall of Fame Coach Lowell Roumph. During the past seven seasons, NJC has averaged 24 wins per year and tallied an impressive 171 wins since Joyce returned to his Alma Mater. Overall as a player and coach, he has been a part of 305 games at NJC and the Plainsmen have won nearly 70% of the games while averaging 24 wins per season in his eight years with Northeastern. For his efforts in 2005, he was named District IX Coach of the Year in leading NJC to the third best record in school history with 28 wins. He followed that up this season with the second best record in school history and 30 wins. He has helped NJC become a national contender and receive a tremendous amount of national recognition for the program and the institution. In addition to becoming Region IX and District IX Champions in 2005, Joyce helped NJC to the 2000 Region IX and District IX championship which was the school's first appearance in the national tournament since the 1983-84 season. Coach Joyce also serves as Associate Athletic Director and is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice.

"I've known Brian since 1997 and have always enjoyed his approach to working with young people and getting winning results. He has recruited and coached outstanding players, and I expect him to continue to keep NJC at the top of Junior College Basketball." -Ron Jirsa, Head Coach Marshall University

With Thirteen All Region IX Selections, the Plainsmen lead the region in having the most players named to the All Region Team during Joyce's tenure. Also, 14 players have been selected to the Region IX All Tournament team over the past six seasons. Three players have been named All American and one player was selected to the National Junior College Athletic Association All Tournament Team. In addition to the on the court accomplishments over the past six seasons, NJC has had four players named Academic All American and nine players named to the Academic All Region IX team.

Head Coach Brian Joyce

Each year seems to bring even greater expectations for the Coach Joyce and the Plainsmen. At the beginning of last season most people believed NJC was in a rebuilding phase as they lost four players to Division I schools. However, NJC's program is now established itself as one of the elite programs in the country by continuing to produce very good players and very good teams on a yearly basis. In fact, not only did the Plainsmen bounce back from the loss of these very talented players but actually had a better season. Six players signed to play at the Division I level, giving NJC 10 over the last two seasons, and finishing the year with a Region IX championship and another national tournament appearance. "I think good programs stand out because they don't have down years. They bounce back even after losing good players by working hard to have another good recruiting class and continue to play at the level of expectation established by the program," commented Joyce.

In 2003-04, NJC finished with a 22-win season, giving the Plainsmen their fifth 20-win season in the last six seasons. Coach Joyce has coached 28 players who have gone on to play major college basketball at the Division I level. He has played a major role in helping the college continue the great tradition established by program pillars, Coach Roy Edwards and Coach Lowell Roumph. Both Edwards and Roumph have been inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame. Joyce's tireless work ethic and determination are evident in the recruiting classes that he has consistently been able to bring to Sterling, Colorado. He has been a part of the second, fourth, and sixth highest win totals in school history. As a result, each year the expectations seemed to increase for the Plainsmen. Coach Joyce commented on the difficulty in sustaining a successful program, "I realized when I took over this program that I was following in the footsteps of two Hall of Fame coaches, which meant I had big shoes to fill. However, I tell our guys all the time that anything in life that is worth something is going to cost something so do not expect success to be handed to you but be prepared to earn it. So I want to embrace the success of the past and utilize the pressure coming from high expectations to continue to strive to make a positive impact on our student-athlete's lives and reach our ultimate goal of bringing a national championship to NJC."

Coach Joyce

At the start of the 2005 season, NJC was once again ranked among the nation's elite as they were tabbed one of the top 10 teams in the country in a preseason publication in the basketball issue of the prestigious Street and Smith's national magazine. NJC's preseason ranking of #10 in the country brings great recognition for not only the program but the institution around the state and the country. This ranking means the Plainsmen have now been ranked 5 times in 6 years since Coach Joyce returned to NJC. The 2004 team garnered national recognition as well by being rated #11 by Street & Smith's magazine and #14 by the National Junior College Athletic Association. Over the past four seasons NJC has been ranked #10, #11, and #12 in the country to Street and Smith's national publication. In addition the 2003-04 team saw four players move on to play at top Division I schools in John DeGroat (Pittsburgh), Marcus McIntosh (Texas A&M), Derek Wabbington (Wyoming), and Dennis Howard (Creighton). NJC has placed the most players at the Division I level of any team in the region over the past six seasons. Since he began coaching at the junior college level he has seen 28 of his players continue on to play at the Division I level and countless others play at other levels of college basketball. These players have moved on to some of the elite teams and conferences in the country including the Big 12, Big East, Conference USA and Mountain West to name a few. In doing so he has maintained the integrity of the tradition rich Northeastern basketball program by consistently having his players graduate with their two-year degrees. During the three years as an Assistant Coach and Associate Head Coach, NJC won their first Region IX Championship since 1983-84 season and finished 7th at the national tournament. In addition, they were ranked in the top 20, won an average of 25 games per year, and had six players named all-region during his tenure assisting Coach Roumph.

"Gonzaga loves to have players from Northeastern in its program, because we know that the have been well coached, have been taught the right thing, and a premium is placed on academics. Under Coach Joyce's leadership NJC has become on of the nation's elite junior colleges." -Mark Few, Head Coach Gonzaga University

Joyce is no stranger to Northeastern basketball, playing for the Plainsmen from 1991-1993. He has enjoyed success as a player and a coach at the NJCAA, NAIA, NCAA Div. II, and NCAA Div. I levels. He was an All-Region IX player on a team that won 43 games during his two years as point guard at NJC. As a player, he was a point guard for a state championship team in high school, a sub region championship team at Northeastern JC, and a Big Sky championship team at Idaho State University. He finished his playing career at Oklahoma Christian University and was an All-Conference selection as a senior. His success continued has a coach. Joyce was an assistant coach at the University of Central Oklahoma. UCO won the Lone Star Conference championship, qualified for the national tournament, and finished the season ranked fourth in the country with 24-5 overall record during his tenure. From UCO, Joyce went on to be the assistant men's basketball coach/sports information director at Colby Community College, which competes in the nationally renowned Jayhawk Conference. At the time, he helped lead Colby to the best Conference record in school history. In addition, he had four of his recruits go on to play Division I basketball.

Coach Joyce received an Associate of Arts degree in Business Administration from NJC, Bachelor of Science in psychology from Oklahoma Christian University, and a Masters of Arts in criminal justice from the University of Central Oklahoma. He and his wife Tina (also an NJC alum) have been married for nine years and have a six-year old son named Dalton as well as a two-year old name Regan Kate.