CVCS Grad Tabbed ECWC Coach Of The Year

The Cassadaga Valley Central School graduate (Class of 1986) was named the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference Coach of the Year earlier this week.

The announcement comes after a week-long process of voting amongst the conference’s head coaches and athletic communications personnel. Each institution had the opportunity to turn in two votes — one coach vote and one athletic communication vote — with a weighted point system factoring five points for a first-place vote and three points for a second-place vote. Nichols took home the largest share of the coaching votes (43 points).

He appeared on nine ballots and earning first place on eight of those to outpace Brockport’s long-time head coach Don Murray (27 Points) and RIT’s Jason Bovenzi (20 Points). It was the second time in three seasons that Nichols has been tabbed the Coach of the Year in the ECWC.

Of course, Nichols is no stranger to earning accolades as the head coach of the Bomber program. He most recently was tabbed Coach of the Year by the conference during IC’s impressive 2018 campaign. This season, Nichols guided the program to a 12-4 record in duals, before capping the year with a co-team title at the NCAA Regionals, as the Bombers tied TCNJ with same total points on the final day of action. Nichols was named the NCAA Mideast Regional Coach of the Tournament at the conclusion of the event. The dual-meet record brings Nichols within 26 wins of reaching the 300-mark for his career.

Under Nichols watch, Ithaca was ranked among the nation’s Top-20 programs the entire season, finishing the year in a tie for the 12th spot in the final NWCA Coaches Poll. The Bombers six qualifiers to the NCAA Championships — which ultimately was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic — ranked in a tie for fourth-best in the nation.