Students have probably seen his face around campus, but do they really know who Tyler Erwin is? Erwin is the academic liaison at Simpson and also works as the assistant men’s basketball coach and head junior varsity coach.

His education began at Midland Lutheran in Fremont, Neb. where he played basketball for the Warriors from 1996 to 2000 and majored in business administration.

During Erwin’s time at Midland Lutheran he earned All-Conference honors and was part of the Midland Lutheran team that made it to the 2000 NAIA Tournament.

After graduating, Erwin stayed at Midland Lutheran to begin his coaching career. Erwin went on to be a graduate assistant men’s basketball coach at NCAA Division II Nebraska-Kearney from 2003 until 2005.

He came to Simpson in 2005 after serving as the director of basketball operations and assistant coach for the Nebraska Cranes of the United States Basketball League. He received his masters in physical education from Nebraska-Kearney in 2005.

Erwin ended up at Simpson due to some connections in the coaching network. His coach at Midland Lutheran is good friends with Simpson Head Coach Bruce Wilson, and Erwin went through the hiring process and became a member of the Storm.

As academic liaison, Erwin works closely with students, coaches and staff members.

“I work with the entire student-athlete for each sport and provide an academic support system for student athletes who are struggling in classes,” Erwin said. “I work closely with students, the athletic staff and Hawley Academic Resource Center. If a coach calls about a player, then I follow up with the individuals and see what is going on and how we can solve the problems they are having.”

Erwin’s typical day starts around 8:30 a.m. when he gets to campus and checks his messages, voice mails and gets caught up on things from the day before. He also teaches racquetball and pickle ball classes in the morning.

Before lunch, Erwin will have individual academic meetings with student-athletes and will fit in a work out.

After lunch, Erwin usually has more academic meetings with students or other faculty members. He then prepares for basketball practice and goes to practice for a couple hours.

As assistant varsity coach, Erwin spends many nights traveling to high school games to watch recruits play.

Erwin not only helps student athletes off of the court but on the court as well. As assistant men’s varsity basketball coach and head junior varsity coach, Erwin spends a lot of time at the gym.

Sophomore Chris Mars likes what Erwin brings to the men’s program.

“He makes us work extremely hard and makes us pay attention to the little things because they make the difference,” Mars said. “His big thing is to make sure that we focus on the little things.”

One of the best parts of Erwin’s job is that he enjoys it.

“I enjoy the interaction with the student-athletes,” Erwin said. “I like helping them out, being their support system, and seeing the benefits of them succeeding.”