Shawn Huse (23rd season)
Coach Huse is the winningest coach in Northern Basketball history and was recently inducted into the MSU-Northern Hall of Fame this past Fall. He has an overall record of 429-257, is ranked 14th in wins among active NAIA DI men’s basketball coaches in only 22 seasons, and 11th in win percentage amongst the top 25 (63%). He has led the Lights to five NAIA National Tournaments and five Frontier Conference titles (league or tournament). The Lights have earned eleven 20-win seasons and have averaged over 20-wins per season in his career up through last season (minus the 2020-21 shortened season (covid).
In 2020, Coach Huse was tabbed one of the 50 most impactful men’s basketball coaches in NCAA DII and NAIA. He was selected by a panel of more than 20 media members looking at coaches’ records, number of high-level players, tournament achievements, awards and other factors. They consulted with Athletic directors, college presidents and search firms. He was also named a NAIA Don Meyer National Coach-of-the-Year finalist in 2013, and has been named Frontier Conference Coach-of-the-Year (2008).
Under Huse, the Lights have ranked in the NAIA Top 25 in 14 of his 22 seasons, have led the Frontier Conference in defensive scoring average 10 times, and have led the league in three-point-shooting (percentage and/or makes) 6 times. His teams have broke 26 school records, and have made their home gym a daunting place to play, racking up a career home record of 249-79 (76%).
As Coach Huse’s teams have consistently done over the years, the 2023-24 Lights volunteered in Havre and its surrounding areas in over 10 various community service events and activities. In 2017-18, the Lights were the recipient of the NAIA National Champions of Character Award and the NAIA National Sportsmanship Award. The one NAIA D1 men’s basketball team that best demonstrates in every day decisions integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, and servant leadership, is given that honor.
Prior to working at Northern, Huse was a part of three highly successful teams as an Assistant Coach. Huse ran the defense at Nebraska-Kearney, while working as the Graduate Assistant Coach. The Lopers played in two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Tournament Championships, won two regular-season titles, and won a school-record 18 consecutive games. At Montana Tech in 1995, Huse was tabbed Frontier Conference MVP, and he served as the Assistant Coach there, helping lead the Orediggers to back-to-back conference tournament championships and national tournament appearances in 1998 and 1999. As an Assistant Coach at his High School alma mater, the Missoula Big Sky Eagles won the school’s first and only State AA boys’ basketball title in 1997.
Huse was born and raised in Missoula, MT. He earned a Master of Arts degree in Education from The University of Nebraska-Kearney in 2002, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics from the University of Montana in 1997, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Montana Tech in 1995. Shawn’s wife Stephanie, also from Missoula, earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Montana Tech in 1999, and a Master’s degree in Counseling from MSU-Northern in 2006. She currently works as a Licensed Therapist Counselor at Havre High School and operates her own private practice in Therapy Counseling as well. Stephanie and Shawn are the VERY proud parents of their daughter Molly (20), son Matthew (17), and son Braxton (12).
