Biola men's basketball head coach, Dave Holmquist, who recorded his 1,000th win against Concordia University on Saturday, stands in his office with his other achievement basketballs. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)

LA MIRADA – One thousand college basketball coaching victories. Let that soak in for a moment – 1,000 wins.

Biola University Men’s Basketball coach Dave Holmquist won his first college game January 6, 1976, as he guided Fresno Pacific to a 96-38 win over West Coast Christian.

Forty-five years later, Holmquist has become only the fifth college men’s coach in the history of the game to reach the milestone 1,000 win plateau.

He guided his Biola Eagles team to a 73-51 PacWest victory over host Concordia University Saturday February 27.

Holmquist, who has been at the helm for Biola for 41 years, has 21 NAIA Tournament appearances, 29, 20-plus win seasons and appeared in the NAIA National Championship game in 1982.

“I’ve had a numerous number of texts, phones calls and emails from former players and friends,” said Holmquist, in his office a few days after the big win.

With the win, Holmquist now has coached 1,409 games and his 1,000 wins fall right behind former Oregon Tech coach Danny Miles in the number four position with 1,040 victories.

With 1,122 wins in the third spot is Harry Statham, former McKendree University (Lebanon, Ill.) coach.

Second is Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, PA) coach Herb Magee in his 53rd year with 1,123 wins. The program is on hiatus this season due to Covid-19.

Current Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski heads the list with 1,168 victories.

**Biola men's basketball head coach, Dave Holmquist, as they play against Concordia University on Friday. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)**

“It’s an honor to be grouped with coaches like that who have been so successful and accomplished so much in their careers,” Holmquist said. “I’ll probably reflect more on that later. But I think I spent most of the time recently thinking about former teams and former players.

“The last few days I’ve just heard so much from different guys. That’s where so much of my attention has been. I’ve stayed in touch with many of them. It’s been great talking to them, especially on the early teams.”

Perhaps one of his best early teams was the nearly-perfect, 39-1 NAIA National Runner-up squad of 1981-82.

In 2019 that team, along with Holmquist and his coaches, were inducted into the Biola Athletics Hall of Fame.

Holmquist also remembers his very first win as a college head coach in 1976 while at Fresno Pacific

“I took over a team that had won five wins the year before and I got the job late,” remembers Holmquist, who was just 24. “We had lost the first 10 games and that first game I was just relieved to finally win a game. I was wondering if we were going to win any the whole year.

“Then I remember the last half of the year I think we were 8-7.” We beat a couple of good teams and pulled a couple of upsets.”

As for his 1,000th win: “I was relaxed in the last minute and I have great respect for that program (Concordia),” Holmquist said. “This year they (Biola) are a great group and it’s been a difficult year because of all the circumstances. They’ve handled it so well and they like each other so much.

“When you have such good people, such good teammates that really like and support each other, it makes it so much better. This has been that kind of team.”

**Biola men's basketball head coach, Dave Holmquist, talks with his team as they play against Concordia University on Friday. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)**

As for that team, they were the only immediate people around Holmquist, besides a few Biola staff members. The arena at Concordia University was empty, of course, because of the pandemic.

“I would have liked to have my two boys with me, but it was special to have just the team for that moment,” Holmquist said.

The win over Concordia wasn’t the only time for a milestone for Biola and Holmquist, as he won his 500th game 23 years ago against the Eagles.

“Coach Holmquist is the type of leader that sees and brings out the best in others,” said Dr. Bethany Miller, Biola senior director of athletics. “He has done this since 1978 in the lives of countless students and staff members. This historic win mark is a reflection of both his intense competitiveness and coaching prowess as well as his deep relational care for people.

“It is a gift to work with him and learn from him. We are looking forward to the time when we can celebrate coach Holmquist in person together.”

With the pair of wins over Concordia Friday and Saturday, Biola upped its record to 8-3 overall and 8-2 in the PacWest.

As for the 1,000th win, Holmquist simply said, “if it happened this year, it would be nice, but if it would happen next year, it’d be fine. I was just focused on our team doing their best.

“I think the players were probably that way too. Maybe, as it got close in the last week or two, maybe they thought about some different things. I think we were just focused on trying to have the best abbreviated season (12 games) that we could.”

Biola men's basketball head coach, Dave Holmquist, talks with coaches, from left, Julious Coleman, David Cone and John Stiver after their game against Concordia University on Friday. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)

“Coach Holmquist is such a fixture for Biola University,” said Neil Morgan, Biola Associate AD for Compliance & Communications. “He has spent parts of six decades here giving so much of himself to impact the lives of young men and women in positive ways.

“It’s so nice for us at Biola to be able to witness an accomplishment that uniquely celebrates him and the special person he is. We are so proud of what he’s done on and off the court and it’s just an honor to be working with him day in and day out.”

That shortened regular season ends Saturday at Concordia, as Biola plays Pt. Loma, which makes up for a missed game earlier this year. The athletic directors agreed on a neutral-court game for the two teams. Game time is 7:00 pm.

Biola, which sits in second in the PacWest, could almost guarantee an invite to the post season with a win over Pt. Loma (8-1, 7-1). Just two seasons ago, Pt. Loma finished as runners-up in the DII National Championship game.

The latest NCAA Division II final regular-season rankings were announced Wednesday, with PacWest teams Pt. Loma (3rd), Biola (5th), Hawaii Hilo (7th) and Fresno Pacific (8th) all in the mix for the six West Regional berths.

The DII selection show on Sunday at 7:30 pm on NCAA.com will announce the six teams for the West Regional, to be played at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado.

What they said about coach Holmquist’s 1,000th win

Julious Coleman, Biola Asst. Men’s coach: “It was a really neat experience for myself. I’ve never been with a coach that achieved that mark. Only four have done that. I sat and reflected on what coach has accomplished in his career and all of those players that have come through the program and contributed to all of his success.

“I think when the season is over and we have time to get away from it a little bit, we will reflect on what coach has accomplished. By far, it’s a big feat.”

David Cone, Biola Asst. Men’s coach: “It was pretty special. Not many people get to be a part of a game like that. It was sort of fun, because you build up the whole day for a big game and then at the end when there’s a little bit of comfort in the last couple of minutes, it just felt like there it is. We sort of anticipated it and got to be a part of something special.

“Coach has put a lot of hard work into it and wants to do well and it shows by the product he’s put out there for a long time.”

John Stiver, Biola Asst. Men’s coach: “Just on and off I’ve been around Dave for all these years. I can’t say anything but positives. It’s been a relationship that has blessed me beyond measure. I feel like I get all of the good from the relationship. Having a relationship with Dave is to have somebody in your corner all the time. As much as he loves all of these players, he loves us assistant coaches.

“The chance to be around somebody like him, take basketball off the table, just as a human being, I think that it has been one of the absolute highlights of my life, to have been a friend of Dave’s. The blessing goes far beyond the basketball court.”

Michael Bagatourian, senior guard: “It was just an honor to be part of this and top to bottom, we all feel that way. Coach just wanted to be with his team. For the 40 teams that he has coached, only one team has won that 1,000th game for him. Obviously, the other 40 teams helped him get there. It was just a blessing.

“The game was kind of out of reach and I was just relaxed in my seat and said, ‘oh, the game’s over.’ Coach Holmquist is sitting there and I looked over and just said, ‘….a thousand wins…..’. Then we started celebrating more.”

Lucas Elliott, freshman forward: “Honestly, it’s just an honor to even be on a team that has a coach that has been here for so long and has been so invested in this program. He has put his heart and soul into coaching us and heart and soul into this school and it’s just a great culture of people. The way he recruits and he takes character over skill. I’m just honored to be a part of a team that he has hand built and is glorifying to God.

“He even told us before the games last Friday and Saturday that these are just two other games. He said just play for yourself.”

Chris Rossow, senior guard: “It felt incredible. He’s a selfless coach and didn’t care about that number. He made us go out there and feel comfortable. After we won that game, I realized we were part of history. Just being a part of that 1,000th win, my family was happy for coach. We’ve been talking about that before I came into the program. We knew he is a winner and has a good heart and cares about things on and off the court.”

Zanen Zeller, sophomore guard: “It’s pretty awesome to be part of such a special history. Only five coaches have reached this and it’s just cool to be part of it to see how he coaches and what he’s talked about the past 40 years. It’s cool to see what a close relationship he has in his past players.”

Jesse Elrod, senior forward: “I’ve been a part of 500 wins, 600 wins, but a thousand. That is just a mind-boggling number. To think he’s the 11th in history to do it and fifth in men’s. You’re putting coach K up there. You’re talking about legends. It’s crazy, it’s history. Coming up to this game, he emphasized that it wasn’t about him, it was about us.”

Solomon Ruddell, junior forward: “Honestly, it was an honor. It’s crazy. I don’t think I’ve played that many games in my life. He got here when my dad was just five years old. It’s pretty cool to be part of it. Before this, I went to a Division I school (UC Irvine). The coaching here is just night and day from there, just with the character of the coaches. It was just another game for coach.”

Alex Wright, junior guard: “The moment was just amazing. It wasn’t too hard fought of a game, but even after the game it felt good that, ‘…wow, we got him this far and got him those eight wins he needed.’ You don’t know how many players have been part of a team that has a coach with a thousand wins. It was amazing to be a part of a moment so big.”

Whitten Dominguez, junior guard: “It was exciting, for sure. It was something that we have talked about, days, weeks leading up to it. We talked about this before the season. We had to do super well to get him a thousand wins.

“He’s an unselfish guy. That really shows when he comes across a big achievement like that. He gets a thousand wins and it’s not about him at all. He really cares about you and that’s what creates a winning culture all the way around.”

Dave Holmquist reaches 1,000 win milestone

What they said about coach Holmquist’s 1,000th win