Johnson, an Omaha, Nebraska native, began as a graduate assistant for his alma mater, Pittsburg State University.

After two years, Johnson served as an assistant men's basketball coach for the Labette Cardinals for one season before moving on to Phillips University in a similar position for a season.

[2] In 1996, Johnson was hired as an assistant coach at Fort Hays State University.

[4] Since his promotion in 2001, Johnson has led the Tigers to two conference championships (one in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference[5] and the other in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association), one MIAA Tournament championship in 2011, nine 20+ win seasons, and seven NCAA Tournament appearances.

Conference tournament champion # denotes interim coach(es)