INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Concordia University women's basketball coach, Paul Fessler, is the ninth winningest active coach by percentage in the NCAA Division II.  With a winning mark of .7295, Fessler trails only Northern State's Curt Fredrickson (.7559) among coaches in the region.  He enters his ninth season at the helm of the Concordia program.

Paul Fessler has a record of 178-66 through eight years of NCAA Division II coaching.  He has led the Golden Bears to back-to-back NSIC regular season and tournament championships and has been named NSIC Coach of the Year for the past two seasons.  Under Fessler, the Golden Bears have won six Northern Sun titles, three each in the regular season and conference tournaments.  They have made berths in the NCAA Tournament every year since they have been eligible, a run of six consecutive seasons.  This is the longest record of NCAA post-season appearances for any team in the region.

Fessler looks to continue his winning ways in 2008-09.  The team was ranked #14 in the final 2007-08 national poll and, despite a new team makeup, should contend with the top teams in the 14-team league.  The Golden Bears play an exhibition game against at the University of Minnesota on November 1 before opening the season at the DII West Coast Tip-Off Classic November 7-9 in Anaheim, Calif.

Winningest Active Coaches by Percentage (min. 5 years as a head coach at a Division II school; includes record at four-year colleges only)