Robert J. Nichols (July 10, 1930 – March 30, 2013) was an American
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
coach. He was known for his tenure as the head men’s coach for the
University of Toledo
The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of ...
.
Nichols was born in
Grand Haven, Michigan, and raised in
Jackson, Michigan. He played college basketball for
Toledo from 1950 to 1953. He was hired as head coach for
Central Catholic High School in
Toledo in 1956, and in seven seasons as head coach compiled a record of 111–39. He then entered the college coaching ranks, first as an assistant at
Bowling Green
A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls.
Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...
, and then was hired as an assistant coach at his alma mater in 1964. Nichols was promoted to head coach after head coach
Ed Melvin resigned following the 1964–65 season.
He coached Toledo for 22 seasons, compiling a record of 377 and 211. His teams won five
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great L ...
(MAC) championships and the
1980 MAC tournament title. Nichols compiled twenty consecutive winning seasons, but resigned in 1987 after consecutive losing seasons.
Nichols returned to coaching in 1989, where he first accepted the head coach position at
Lake–Sumter Community College, but then reversed course and accepted the head women’s job at
Eckerd College
Eckerd College is a private liberal arts college in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1958, part of the campus is waterfront and beach on Boca Ciega Bay. Because of its location, Eckerd is considered a "beach school" and has its own student ...
. Nichols coached at Eckerd for five seasons, resigning to take care of his wife after she was in a serious car accident.
Nichols died in Toledo on March 30, 2013, at age 82.
References
External links
Coaching record @ sports-reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Bob
1930 births
2013 deaths
American men's basketball coaches
American men's basketball players
American women's basketball coaches
Basketball coaches from Michigan
Basketball players from Michigan
Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball coaches
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
High school basketball coaches in the United States
People from Grand Haven, Michigan
Sportspeople from Ottawa County, Michigan
Sportspeople from Jackson, Michigan
Toledo Rockets men's basketball coaches
Toledo Rockets men's basketball players