Steve Swanson is entering his third season with Idaho State University after spending the previous five years coaching overseas, including the last three as the head coach for the Scottish Rocks. Swanson's experience both as a head coach and as a collegiate associate head coach has proven invaluable during the season. Swanson's recruiting contacts have helped the Bengals turn over the roster in just two seasons, as this year all but one player was recruited by the current staff. Swanson has also taken a couple of turns manning the bench, filling in for Joe O'Brien during Idaho State's home game with Northern Arizona in 2007, and again in 2008 against Northern Arizona for the final 16:56 of the game. He was 89-56 (.614 winning percentage) with the Rocks, including a team record 36-15 in 2005-06, making him the winningest coach in Rocks history. He also was named Coach of the Month four times in the British Basketball League. The Rocks finished the regular season at 29-11, good for a second place mark, the highest finish for the Rocks in team history. However, Swanson is no stranger to collegiate coaching, as he served as an assistant coach at Southeastern Iowa Community College from 1995-99, and then as the Associate Head Coach from 1999-2001. While at Southeastern, he helped the team to the 2000 NJCAA national title coaching under Joe O'Brien. He handled all facets of the basketball operations, including recruiting, scouting, scheduling, and helping players advance to four-year status. During his time at Southeastern, 26 players advanced to the Division I level, including one to the NBA. Interestingly, serving under O'Brien at Southeastern as a coach was a bit of role reversal for Swanson, as he served as the Director of Athletics at Southeastern from 1994-2001, overseeing the entire athletic department, including budgeting, development issues, scheduling, and supervision of the program. Swanson has also served graduate assistantships at both Cal State Northridge and Georgia Southern University. Swanson was an NJCAA Academic All-American as a player at Southeastern Iowa Community College, helping the team to the Region XI championship and graduating Summa Cum Laude. He earned his B.A. in math/business, graduating from Monmouth College in Illinois Summa Cum Laude and helping them to the 1992 Southern Conference title. As a senior, Swanson was not only team captain but Monmouth's leading scorer and a First Team All-Conference selection. In 1991 he was selected as Sports Illustrated's Small College Player of the Week. Swanson earned a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Award in 1992, and attended Georgia Southern, where he earned a Master's in sports management, again graduating Summa Cum Laude. Steve and his wife Sandy have a daughter Bronwynn, born in the summer of 2006 and they are expecting their second child.