Inductees

Dave Neier never has been one to draw attention to himself.

And his favorite comment to local media was, “You were there, you saw what happened.” Later, it became, “What are you asking me for? You know what’s going on.”

What went on was winning. His St. Francis Borgia Regional High School boys basketball teams earned more 700 wins, and his success as head coach is certainly worthy of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, which is proud to induct Neier with the Class of 2020.

Neier credits athletes and assistant coaches for any success. But that can’t hide the superlatives.

In November 2019, Neier entered his 33^rd season as head coach of his alma matter, owning a 722-212 record. That included nine Final Four berths, five MSHSAA state championships (1993, 1994, 1998, 2006, 2009) and 24 district titles. The state titles are tied with four others for fourth-most in state history. The 1998, 2010 and 2011 teams were state runners-up, and the 1995 was third.

“My dad was the head of the maintenance department at Borgia for over 30 years. He taught me what dedication meant,” Neier said. “And the Borgia community was a family, and it took everyone to be successful.”

Neier grew up in Washington and played in grade school for his father, Hans Neier. At Borgia, he played for basketball coach Ray DeGreeff (MSHOF 1989) and football coach Harold Flanagan.

“The passion my dad showed for the sport, and sports in general, with the guidance he gave – you could just tell how much he loved the game. When I got into coaching, I wanted to do the best job I could,” Neier said. “(DeGreef and Flanagan) we’re very inspirational leaders and made me realize what a great vocation it is.”

After graduating in 1971, Neier accepted a football scholarship to Central Methodist University.

With a low draft number, Neier felt he might be inducted into military service before his freshman year ended. When that didn’t happen, he transferred to East Central College, playing basketball as a sophomore. He then graduated from the University of Central Missouri.

After working for Washington High School’s Bill Whitacre, Neier assisted DeGreeff at Borgia. The Knights made their first trip to the state title game in 1981.

Steve Ruether ran the day-to-day operations as DeGreeff was fighting cancer. He died on the day of the quarterfinal round, which Borgia won, 111-107, in six overtimes.

After assisting Ruether, Neier got his chance as Borgia’s head coach for the 1987-1988 season, joining Borgia’s other rookie coaches – football’s Dale Gildehaus (MSHOF 2018) and volleyball’s Mike Tyree (MSHOF 2019).

One of Neier’s early coaching additions was Bill Kimminau, who served as an assistant coach until retiring after March 2019.

“We were really a team. He was great with the kids and knew how to inspire them,” Neier said. “His knowledge of basketball and devotion to our school – you just don’t get assistants that stay that long. He could have been a head coach anywhere.”

After three 20-win seasons, Neier’s first district title came in 1991. The Knights made two trips to the Class 3 quarterfinals before breaking through in March 1993.

Borgia’s 1993 team (28-3) trailed 8-0 early in the game but beat Marshall 102-69 in the semifinals, with Nathan Phillip scoring 40 points. In the title game, Borgia beat Jennings and Kelly Thames, 74-72.

Borgia repeated in 1994 (31-1), beating Mexico, 88-67 in the finals.

Neier’s third state title came in 1998, when the Knights  (31-1) beat Chillicothe, 55-50. In 1999, Borgia was a state runner-up.

In 2006, Borgia (30-1) won the Class 4 state title against Sikeston, 77-62. Neier was honored as the National Federation of High Schools’ Midwest Section Coach of the Year.

The Knights reached the Class 4 championship game three years in a row from 2009 to 2011. The 2009 Borgia team finished 28-3.

In other sports, Neier in 2020 will enter his 20th season as head coach of the boys golf program. The 2012 team won a Class 3 state title. Additionally, he spent four seasons as baseball head coach, with a 44-35 record with one quarterfinal berth.

His career also was the result of family support – from wife, Lori, and his children Mike, Ali, Ella, and Jake.

All grew up in the gym, watching his teams learn more than the game.

“Our goal every year is to get better with every practice and every game,” Neier said. “So, I hope that the lessons they learned made them not only better players, but also better persons.”