Brett Balak is in his 17th season as head coach of the Nebraska Wesleyan University men’s golf team. Under Balak’s direction, NWU has won 13 conference crowns and has qualified as a team for either the NCAA Division III Championships or the NAIA Championships in all but two seasons.

Last season Balak coached the NWU men to their second straight Great Plains Athletic Conference championship and their eighth in ten seasons. The Prairie Wolves then went on to qualify for their eighth straight NCAA III Championship where they tied for 17th overall. Balak was named the 2010 GPAC Men’s Golf Coach-of-the-Year for the second straight season, and the third time he has won that honor.

In 2009, Balak guided NWU to a comeback victory to claim the GPAC title after trailing through the first two rounds. The Prairie Wolves played in their seventh straight NCAA III Championship and posted another Top 10 finish by placing in a tie for 10th. Balak was named the 2009 GPAC Men’s Golf Coach-of-the-Year.

During the 2007-08 season, Balak’s team earned three team titles at tournaments, finished as the 2008 GPAC Runner-up and qualified for the NCAA III Championships.

For his career, Balak has coached his teams to 63 tournament victories.

Balak’s 2007 squad claimed three tournament victories including the team title at the prestigious Fred B. Kravetz Invitational in Rochester, N.Y.

In 2006, Balak led Nebraska Wesleyan to its first national team title in any sport, as the Prairie Wolves won the NCAA Div. III National Championships held at Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln. As a result of his efforts, Balak earned the Eaton/Golf Pride National Coach of the Year Award, as presented by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). He also received the Omaha World-Herald Midlands College Coach of the Year Award for men’s sports.

The Prairie Wolves have earned three of their top four national finishes in team history under Balak, including the 2006 national championship, a fifth-place finish in 2005 and a sixth-place showing in 2002. Overall, Balak has led his teams to eight top 10 finishes at the national meet.

Nebraska Wesleyan has won the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) title in eight of the 10 years under Balak. NWU has now captured 24 of the last 29 league titles. Following Nebraska Wesleyan’s win at the 2004 conference meet, Balak was honored with the SCHEELS/GPAC Men’s Golf Coach of the Year award.

While at the helm, Balak has coached 13 All-Americans (Kelly Karmazin, 1997; Bob Wellman, 1998-99; Brandon Urban, 2000; Ryan Vlasin, 2001; David Easley, 2002; Jon Deines, 2004 and 2006; Travis Davis, 2004-06; Aaron Stockton, 2005-07; Jeff Holm, 2006; Tyler Lawson, 2006; Nate Jaeger, 2007, 2009; and Patrick Hanzel, 2009) and 10 All-America Scholars (Easley, David Honnens, Karmazin, Judd Knispel, Ryan Lanzen, Jason McDonald, Travis Minzel, Matt Simpson, Vlasin and Joel Wisdom). Karmazin was also named the GCAA’s Academic Player-of-the-Year in 1997. This award goes to the player with the lowest stroke average (74.3) and highest grade point average (3.97).

Elected by his peers, Balak served a three-year term as the lone Division III representative on the GCAA National Advisory Board.

Balak was a member of the NWU men’s golf team himself from 1987 to 1991. He served as an assistant coach before being named the head coach following the 1994 fall golf season. The Schuyler, Neb., native graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan in 1991 and is currently the associate director of admissions at NWU. Balak has a daughter Isabella.