Bradley University Athletics

Former Concordia-St. Paul head coach Paul Fessler joined the Bradley women’s basketball program as an assistant coach in May 2016 and is in his fifth season with the Braves. 

Fessler brought 20 years of collegiate coaching experience to The Hilltop after spending the previous 16 years as head coach at Concordia-St. Paul in St. Paul, Minn.  He led the Golden Bears to eleven 20-win seasons, 10 NCAA Division II Tournament appearances, five regular-season titles and was a three-time conference Coach of the Year selection.

In his first four seasons on The Hilltop, Fessler has helped the Braves improve their overall win total each year, which includes the first back-to-back 20-win seasons in program history. 

In fact, Bradley has produced six First-Team All-MVC honorees over the last four years after boasting just three first-team all-league honorees in the 15 years prior to his arrival on The Hilltop. 
The recently completed 2019-20 season resulted in the Braves posting school records for overall (22) and MVC (13) victories.  Poised to make the first post-season appearance in nearly a decade before the season was ended, Bradley ranked 50^th in the final NCAA RPI.  The Braves produced a school record three First-Team All-MVC selections after earning the best Valley finish in program history (third). 

After opening the 2018-19 season by matching the longest win streak in program history (9), Bradley ended up finishing with the most non-conference victories (10-1) in school history during a 20-10 campaign.  The Braves went 10-8 in league play to finish fifth in the MVC standings for the team’s best showing in the MVC dating back to a 12-6 record in 2009-10 (T3rd). 

Bradley ranked third in the MVC in both scoring offense and defense in 2017-18, marking the first time to finish in the top three in the MVC in both categories in the same season, in addition to posting the lowest turnovers-per-game average in school history. 

The 2016-17 saw Leti Lerma, who was the program’s first First-Team All-MVC selection since 2008-09, become Bradley’s all-time leading rebounder. 

In addition to the trio of First-Team All-MVC performers, Bradley has produced four MVC All-Freshman team picks during Fessler’s time at BU, including 2018-19 MVC Freshman of the Year & MVC Sixth Player of the Year Lasha Petree. 

During his tenure at Concordia-St. Paul, Fessler led his teams to a 326-148 (.688) overall record and Golden Bears were 199-90 (.689) in conference action.  Overall, he owns a 427-166 (.720) career coaching mark in 20 years, which includes four seasons as head coach Anoka Ramsey Community College in Coon Rapids, Minn.

The 2013-14 season was one of four seasons in which Concordia-St. Paul notched more than 25 wins as the Golden Bears capped a 28-9 season with the program’s first NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearance.  The Elite Eight was one of three NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 runs by his squads. 

A 2012 inductee into the Minnesota Girl’s Basketball Hall of Fame, Fessler served on the NCAA Regional selection committee and was the NSIC representative to the WBCA. 

Named interim head coach at Concordia-St. Paul in August 2000, Fessler followed up a 12-win first season with an impressive run of nine consecutive 20-win seasons and led the Golden Bears to the NCAA Tournament in 10 of the next 13 years. 

Fessler was head coach at Anoka Ramsey Community College from 1996-97 through the 1999-2000 season and posted a 101-18 (.849) record during his tenure.  The four-time Region 13 Coach of the Year, led his squads to three consecutive NJCAA Division III national championships and were the national runner-up in his final season in 1999-2000. 

Originally from Sutherland, Iowa, Fessler graduated from Northern Iowa in 1988 with a degree in physical education. 

Fessler and his wife Shelly have a daughter: Jade.