College of Saint Benedict

Veteran head coach Mike Durbin begins his 40th season with the Bennies in 2025-26. 

Durbin became the 17^th active coach at all levels of the NCAA to reach the 700-win milestone on Feb. 24, 2021 when he earned his 700^th win at the College of Saint Benedict with an 88-83 decision over St. Thomas at home at Claire Lynch Hall.

In 39 seasons, Durbin has coached 76 All-MIAC First Team selections, 55 honorable mention athletes, 15 players named to the All-MIAC Defensive Team and 15 all-first year team picks.

Durbin has a 766-294 (.729) overall coaching record and a 762-272 mark with Saint Benedict. He ranks 15th among all active coaches regardless of NCAA division and has the most wins by an active DIII coach. He is 36nd all-time for most wins in a career, regardless of division. He is third all-time in wins in NCAA DIII.  

In addition to his outstanding overall coaching record at CSB Durbin holds a 594-196 mark in conference play. The 594 wins is the most by an active coach in the MIAC.  

In 2024-25, St. Ben's finished with a 17-10 record including 11-7 in the MIAC, tied for fourth. The Bennies reached the MIAC Playoff semifinals for a third straight year. CSB had two players - Sophia Jonas and Megan Morgan - named to the All-MIAC first team while Kira Young was selected to the All-MIAC Playoff Team.

In 2023-24, Durbin directed CSB to an overall record of 15-11 including 12-8 in the MIAC for the No.5 seed in the MIAC Playoffs. CSB advanced to the MIAC Playoff semifinals for the second straight year. 

In 2022-23, Durbin directed the Bennies to an 18-9 overall record and 14-8 for a tie for third in the MIAC.  

He picked up the 600^th win of his career in 2013-14. In 2015-16, Durbin guided CSB to the 500^th MIAC win in program history since joining the league in 1985. Saint Benedict was the third program to reach the milestone, and the last team to join the conference.

During the summer of 2003, Durbin was inducted into the Minnesota High School Girls Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. On Dec. 1, 2001, against Macalester at Claire Lynch Hall, Durbin surpassed former University of St. Thomas head coach Ted Riverso to become the MIAC's all-time women’s basketball career wins leader.

Under Durbin’s direction, CSB has averaged nearly 20 wins a season for nearly 40 years, and has won or shared 13 MIAC championship titles. CSB has finished in the top four in the conference 30 times in his 38 seasons at the helm.

Saint Benedict has also competed in the NCAA Tournament 17 times in Durbin’s 36 years, including eight NCAA Sweet 16 appearances, three Elite 8 appearances and two NCAA Final Four appearances.

In 1992-93, Saint Benedict made its first appearance in the NCAA Final Four, and then repeated that accomplishment just six years later. In the 1998-99 season, he led CSB to the NCAA Championship game, finishing as the national runner-up with a 74-65 loss to Washington University (Mo).

He has been fortunate enough to have coached some remarkable athletes at CSB. Four CSB basketball players have received MIAC Player of the Year honors, nine have received All-American Honors and five have received Academic All-American honors. Under Durbin’s watch, 21 players have surpassed the 1,000-point milestone in their careers.  

Durbin, the eldest of nine children, was born and raised in Howard, Ohio. At East Knox High School, he competed in basketball and football. After his high school graduation in 1977, Durbin attended Kent State University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in communication and public relations in 1981.

He returned to East Knox High School to be a varsity football assistant and junior varsity girls’ basketball coach. From there, he moved to Mt. Vernon Nazarene College where he was a volunteer assistant women’s basketball coach for two seasons.  While at Mt. Vernon, Durbin received a master’s degree from Ashland College in sports administration. He was then hired as an interim coach at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. He served there for one year, before coming to CSB in 1986.

Durbin also serves as the athletic department’s recruiting coordinator, a role he began in 2012-13. He resides in St. Cloud, Minn., with his wife, Teri, who the director of admission services at CSB/SJU.  They have been married for more than 30 years and have one daughter – a 2018 CSB alumnae.

Durbin's Milestones:

1st Victory - Dec. 14, 1985 - Denison University
50th Victory - Jan. 7, 1989 - St. Thomas
100th Victory - Jan. 26, 1991 - St. Mary's College
200th Victory - Feb. 18, 1995 - Gustavus Adolphus  
300th Victory - Dec. 11, 1999 - Concordia-Moorhead
400th Victory - Jan. 21, 2004 - St. Thomas
500th Victory - Dec. 10, 2008 - Macalester (photo gallery)
600th Victory - Jan. 8, 2014 - Macalester
700th Victory - Feb. 24, 2021 - St. Thomas (story)
2014-15 - Coach of USA D3 Select Team on four-game trip in Brazil
2002-2003 - Inducted in High School Girls' Hall of Fame
2001-2002 - CSB Basketball Team's Trip to Australia
2000-2001 - Conducts Basketball Camp in the Bahamas
1998-1999 - Division III National Championships - Final Four
1998 - CSB Basketball Team's Trip to Italy

Additional College Coaching Experience: 
1985-86: Head basketball coach at Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio
1981-83: Assistant basketball coach at Mt. Vernon Nazarene College, Mt. Vernon, Ohio
1981-83: Assistant varsity girls' basketball coach at East Knox H.S. in Howard, Ohio

College Education:
1986: Master's degree in sports administration from Ashland College, Ohio
1981: Bachelor's degree in communications from Kent State University 

Professional Organizations:
Women's Basketball Coaching Association (WBCA)

Mike Durbin's CSB Coaching Records:
Mike Durbin holds the record for most MIAC wins by a women's basketball coach and also holds the record for most overall wins in the MIAC.