Benedictine College athletic director Charlie Gartenmayer officially introduced former Crieghton University assistant coach Todd Eisner as the new head men's basketball coach in a press conference at 11 a.m. Tuesday inside the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium on the Benedictine campus.

"To leave my alma mater for this job shows how special I think this place is," Coach Eisner said. "I want to make you proud of what Benedictine is all about and proud of what we do on the court.

"I am excited to be here and to be a Raven."

Prior to joining the staff at Creighton, Eisner served as the head coach at NAIA Div. II Bellevue University from 2000 through 2008. He also served in the same role at NAIA Div. II Viterbo University from 1995 through 1999.

"We are excited to welcome Todd and Andrea into the Benedictine family," Gartenmayer said.  "We are excited to watch him perform his magic on the basketball court…so circle your calendars for the 2011 NAIA National Basketball Tournament in Kansas City, because we plan to be there!"

A graduate of Creighton in 1991 with a B.S. in Business Administration, Eisner has been involved as an assistant or head coach at the collegiate level for all but 14 months of his professional career.  In that time, his track record as a head coach has been remarkable.  He guided Viterbo to an Elite Eight appearance in 1999 and was named the Midwest Collegiate Conference (MCC) Coach of the Year in 1998 after guiding the school to the MCC title.

While at Bellevue, Eisner led the Bruins to seven NAIA Div. II National Tournament Appearances and finished 33-4 in 2008 with a runner-up finish at the Div. II National Tournament.

He returned to his alma mater after guiding Bellevue to an overall record of 226-56 and after winning six regular season Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships. Five of his final six teams finished the regular season ranked in the top 10 and all eight of his teams won 22 or more games.

As a player, he played on three postseason teams from 1989 through 1991, including two appearances in the NCAA tournament.  He also helped Creighton win two Missouri Valley Conference championships over his playing career.

Eisner is married to Andrea, also a Creighton graduate, also holds a Master's in Sports Science in Sports Management from the United States Sports Academy.  He replaces former coach Joe Brickner who was released at the conclusion of the 2009-10 season.

"The generosity and warmth that I felt from my visit here was unbelievable," Coach Eisner said. "I will be committed to my players and all I ask is that they are committed to me. If we can do this, great things will happen.