"We are excited to announce that Scott Flemming has been promoted to serve as our first full-time athletic director,” said Dr. Daniel J. Martin, MVNU’s president. "Scott has already provided tremendous service to our university in the dual role as coach and athletic director and we are looking forward to him continuing that in this new role. As the men’s basketball coach, he did an outstanding job of recruiting high quality student-athletes who have represented our university well on and off the court. His leadership of the men’s basketball program has been exemplary.”

"Scott Flemming will be greatly missed in the role as head men’s basketball coach at Mount Vernon Nazarene,” said Lanette Sessink, MVNU’s vice president for Student Development. "Due to the success of the program over the past 19 years, it will be difficult not to associate him with Cougar basketball. We are very grateful for the success Scott demonstrated with the program. He not only taught expertise in the game itself, but he has played a huge role in the lives of the student-athletes. He articulated the desire to win games, but he also demonstrated the importance of character both on and off the court.”

"Although, I have only worked with him for the past six months, I have always followed the success of the basketball program during his tenure,” Sessink continued. "I am grateful to continue working with him as our athletic director. I know he will be a great mentor and example for each and every athletic program represented at the university.”

Flemming, who returned to his alma mater in 1990, guided the MVNU men’s basketball team to a 397-226 record over the past 19 years for a .637 winning percentage. The team won 20 or more games in 13 of the past 15 seasons and advanced to the NAIA Division II National Tournament eight times under his leadership including a school-record fourth year in a row this season as the team posted a 23-9 overall record. The program has consistently been ranked in the Top 25 year in and year out including finishing this past season at No. 12. The Cougars won three American Mideast Conference Tournament titles and earned the program’s first two regular-season conference titles, and he also guided the program to the National Christian College Athletic Association national title in 2002 and an NCCAA national runner-up finish in 2004. For his efforts, Flemming has earned two National Coach of the Year honors (NAIA Division II in 1998 and NCCAA in 2000). He was also the Mid-Ohio Conference Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1998.

Flemming’s teams have been well-known for their explosive offenses that have annually ranked among the NAIA Division II national leaders in points per game. He had 11 different players earn NAIA Division II All-American honors under his watch including three different players on the NAIA Division II All-American First Team. He saw 17 different players score 1,000 or more career points with five players going over 2,000 points. He also had 19 different players earn NAIA Division II Scholar-Athlete honors with a 3.5 or higher grade point average. In addition, four former players have gone on to play professionally overseas and one, Mike Wells, has worked for 15 years in the NBA.

After serving as an assistant coach at NCAA Division II Wheaton (Ill.) College and then the University of South Alabama, an NCAA Division I school, Flemming got his first job as a head coach at Nyack (N.Y.) College where he posted a 43-47 mark in three years taking the head coach and athletic director job at MVNU. He earned a master’s degree in communication from Wheaton in 1985 and another master’s degree in sport science from the United States Sports Academy in 1987. He and his wife, Chawn, who is also an MVNU alum and works in the Admissions office at MVNU, reside in Mount Vernon with their three children, Preston, Bryn, and Victoria.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed coaching basketball at MVNU,” said Flemming, who is a 1980 graduate of the university. "After I entered into the coaching field, it was truly a dream to come back and coach at my alma mater. God has blessed me with this opportunity. I have enjoyed the competition greatly, but it is the players that I will remember the most. I have regular contact with many of the alums still. I have tried my best to not only mold them as players but in their personal lives as well. This was very much a ministry for me. The players and coaches who have been in our program through the years have enriched my life.”

"Although it is not easy to make this change, I feel it is for the betterment of our university and my own personal situation as well,” Flemming continued. "With transitions that are occurring, there will be a great deal of demand on my time in the coming days. I also cannot say enough about the staff of coaches and other athletic staff members. Their commitment and expertise has allowed me to serve in this dual role over the last 19 years. It is now time to make this change where I can give more time to the athletic director’s position and allow the new coach to focus more on running the basketball program. I will continue to make this my ministry.”

In addition to focusing on the athletic director duties, Flemming will help with fundraising for the Prince Student Union expansion product that will include a new gymnasium.

The search for a new men’s basketball coach will begin immediately with the position being posted. Current assistant coach Ryan Frost has been named the interim coach during the transition and will take care of day-to-day responsibilities for the program including recruiting, off-season workouts, and scheduling until the coaching position is filled.