MONROE, La. – Having won eight Southland Conference Coach of the Year awards after seven NCAA Tournament appearances and a showing in the NIT, Mike Vining entered the 1999-2000 campaign just six wins away from catching Lenny Fant as the winningest coach in ULM history.
Vining put together another loaded roster that season with four eventual 1,000 point scorers in senior Maurice Bell (1,426 points), sophomore Wojciech Myrda (1,132 points), sophomore Brian Lubeck (1,078 points) and senior Mike Smith (1,062 points).
The historic day came on Dec. 30, 1999 when “The Dean” garnered his 327th victory, passing Fant as ULM beat Nicholls State 73-59. Fant, who coached Vining, was 326-221 in 22 seasons.
“There wasn't really a big celebration when I won No. 327. The media came by and asked me about it but I don't really remember anything big after that win. The big celebration was supposed to be when I got my 400th win, but unfortunately we had a really long losing streak right after I won No. 399, so that wasn't too much fun,” Vining said.
Bell and Smith both averaged over 20 points per game on the season and guided the Warhawks to a runner-up finish in the regular season with a 19-9 (13-5 SLC) record. ULM was upset by seventh-seeded Lamar in the conference tournament, but Smith went on to win SLC Player of the Year honors.
“That was one of the worst losses of my career,” Vining said. “We played Lamar at our place just two games before and we crushed them. We made everything we shot and were pressing. It was like 15-0 to start the game and Lamar couldn't even get the ball across half-court. Though as soon as the pairings came out and I saw we were playing Lamar I was worried. I knew our guys weren't going to take it as seriously as we should have. I knew how well we played them in the last game and I knew how poorly Lamar had played and neither of those things were going to happen again. I still didn't think we were going to lose and we led the whole way. Lamar actually checked out of their hotel so they could drive straight home after the game. Near the end of the game one of their guys, who never even shot any threes, made a three from the corner to put them up by one and we blew the next play. Lamar then made all of its free throws.”
Vining had a unique player on the roster in Myrda who had broken the school single-season blocks record for the second year in a row. He rejected 96 as a freshman and 144 as sophomore. With 123 more as a junior, the spotlight was turned on him for his senior season in 2001-02 as he was closing in on the all-time NCAA record.
“He had great timing,” Vining said. “Even when he wasn't blocking shots, he was contesting everything.”
With fellow All-SLC First-Team selection Lubeck alongside, Myrda broke the record and ended with 535 career blocks after an astounding 172 as a senior. Vining coached the team to his sixth 20-win season and another runner-up regular season finish with a 15-5 mark in SLC play.
Vining won his final game, 70-61 at Stephen F. Austin in 2004-05. He walked away as the winningest coach in both ULM and SLC history with 402 victories in 24 seasons and 14 championships.
“We started my final year really strong. The turning point was when I hit win No. 399 and we played at McNeese State. We led by five with under a minute remaining and lost. Our women's team was actually there watching us and left when we were up five because they thought the game was over. That game really hit our confidence,” Vining said. “SFA actually had a really good team that year, but there was no pressure on us. In my final game, the team was relaxed and we just went out there and played.”
Since then, Vining has been voted into the ULM Hall of Fame, SLC Hall of Honor, Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and LABC Hall of Fame.
“I took a lot of time to think before stepping down. I didn't want people to think that the disappointment of the previous season was the reason that I stepped down, because that wasn't the reason. There were a lot of things going on at the time including a move to the Sun Belt Conference. I told the AD that whenever the school was going to go, I'm out. I looked at the budgets and the travel,” Vining said. “If I was younger, then I probably would have really wanted to go to a new conference and take on the challenge. Though since I was older and near the end of my career, I just felt it was the right time and it would be better for someone new to come in.
“When it's all said and done, I was able to do what I love, where I wanted to do it. Being able to stay here my entire head coaching career is a blessing. You see coaches all over the country having to move around after three or four years, but I never wanted to leave. People always asked me why I didn't leave after my best seasons, and I did have some offers from bigger schools, but I never wanted to go. To me, no offer was better than what I already had. My family and the community were both important to me, and this was my school.
“It is also satisfying to me to see Keith (Richard) back here re-building the program the way it is supposed to be done. He played and coached here, so it's pretty much the same as what I did. I knew that it was going to take someone like him, who truly cares about the University, to come in here and re-build the program to what it was.”
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This is the final installment of a five-story series that highlighted Vining's 24-year head coaching career at ULM leading up to the banner raising ceremony on Jan. 24, 2015 at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
