When Bob Jones University added intercollegiate sports in 2012, basketball and soccer were the first two sports to be included in the Bruins program.

The first coach that BJU hired as a Bruins coach was Mike LeViere, who now coaches the Bruins women’s basketball team.

LeViere grew up in Midland, Michigan. LeViere said his father, who was a teacher and coached multiple sports, was the person who got him interested in sports.

“I grew up playing all sorts of sports with my brothers,” LeViere said.

Besides basketball, LeViere said he enjoys and has coached other sports, but basketball has always been his favorite.

“I have always loved many different sports. I coached track and field for a public high school in Michigan,” Leviere said.

“Basketball has always been my favorite due to the complex physical skills, the speed at which the game is played and the sudden decisions that are constantly required,” he said.

LeViere graduated with a degree in sports studies from Central Michigan University and then went on to earn his master’s degree in sports management.

After graduating from CMU in 1999, LeViere began his basketball coaching career as head coach for the women’s basketball team at Northland Baptist Bible College.

LeViere remained in this position until 2002.

While at Northland Baptist Bible College, LeViere coached many different sports in addition to basketball.

“I coached a home school boys’ basketball team, track, girls’ high school basketball and women’s basketball at Northland Baptist Bible College,” LeViere said.

After his years at Northland, LeViere served as athletic director and coached multiple sports at Cross Lanes Christian School for nine years until coming to Bob Jones University in 2012.

One of the aspects of sports that LeViere relates to life is the pressure that sports bring and the “crisis moment.”

“In many ways the athletic realm is a microcosm of life,” LeViere said.

“The pressure of athletic competition often forces out what is inside is and truly reveals who we really are. Sometimes that’s not pretty and then we need to deal with it, ask forgiveness and move on to be better (or more like Christ) tomorrow,” he said.

“The crisis moment in a game is often dominated by the ‘best’ player or the player who has prepared and practiced the most,” LeViere said.

“The same is true in life. Crisis moments reveal how we have prepared in our lives. Do we really trust God completely and turn to Him?  Is prayer a constant part of our life?”

LeViere said the thing he’s most enjoyed since becoming the Bruins women’s basketball coach has been working with the players he has coached.

“Without a doubt getting to work with wonderful young ladies that the Lord has led here and seeing their improvement during the time they were on the team,” he said. 

“Watching a team overachieve and defeat an opponent simply because we worked harder and were more disciplined is a joy to watch,” LeViere said.