Barry University Athletics

Head coach Dave Nichols enters his 12th season with the Barry University volleyball program. In his 11 previous seasons, he has established Buccaneer volleyball as one of the elite programs in the country with 11 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, three NCAA Elite Eight appearances, two national championships, one national runner-up, and three Sunshine State Conference titles.

Nichols’ 11-year career at Barry has produced tremendous results. He has compiled a 264-80 career record, averaging 24 wins per season. He is also the winningest coach in Barry history with a .767 winning percentage which ranks 12th among active coaches in NCAA Division II. His 264 career wins also ranks 31st among active coaches in NCAA Division II.

In 1996, Nichols became just the fourth coach in Barry’s young history. Since then, he has been named SSC Coach of the Year three times (2001, 2003, & 2004), AVCA South Region Coach of the Year three times (1997, 2001, & 2004), and Volleyball Monthly National Coach of the Year in 2001.

In just his second year, he led the Buccaneers to their third trip to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1997. Barry defeated Lock Haven (Pa.) and Northern Michigan 3-0 and advanced to the national championship match to face West Texas A&M. In one of the most exciting Division II national championship matches on record, the Bucs had match point 16-15 in game five of the finals, but fell just short 18-16 to the Buffalos. Barry finished with a 28-5 record.

Four years later, Nichols led the Bucs back to the NCAA Elite Eight for the fourth time in school history and the second under his direction. Barry glided through the competition defeating Western State 3-1 and UC San Diego 3-0 to make it back to the national championship match for a third time in the program’s history. This time, the outcome was different. The Bucs faced South Dakota State and defeated the Jacks 3-0 to capture their second NCAA Division II title and first under Nichols. Barry finished the season with a 32-2 record.

In 2003, the Bucs served as host for the NCAA South Regional tournament, but the season fell short with a loss to Tampa in the regional semifinals. Despite a 24-4 finish, the Bucs set a new NCAA Division II record by winning 55 consecutive games. The win streak began against North Florida on Sept. 13. and continued until Nov. 14 when the Bucs lost game two against Tampa.

In 2004, Nichols led the Bucs to their second consecutive top ranking in the South Region and hosted the regional tournament for the second straight year. This time, they walked away with the regional championship to advance to the Elite Eight.

The Bucs also won the bid to host the national finals for the second time in school history and won the title, their third, on their home court while setting an NCAA Division II championship tournament attendance record in the process. Nichols led the Bucs to a 34-1 record with their only loss coming during the second match of the season to UC San Diego.

In 11 seasons, Nichols has coached 13 AVCA All-Americans, five Volleyball Monthly All-Americans, four Daktronics, Inc., All-Americans, three CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 27 AVCA South Region selections, 12 Daktronics, Inc., South Region selections, six SSC Players of the Year, and 37 All-SSC selections.

Prior to joining the Bucs, Nichols served as an assistant with NCAA Division I Arizona State University. He helped guide the Sun Devils to their most successful finish in the history of the program, as ASU finished the year ranked #10 in the nation. The Sun Devils also earned their first sweep of rival powers UCLA and USC.

Nichols spent seven years as the head coach of the men’s volleyball club team at the University of California-Berkeley. He led the Golden Bears to five league championships and five national titles. Nichols left with a stellar 229-49 record, including 20 wins against Top 20 Division I programs. While at California, he also worked as a co-administrator and head coach in 1994 for the Berkeley Juniors club team where he helped start the boy’s program. In 1993, he served as an assistant coach at the U.S. Olympic Festival in San Antonio, Texas.

Nichols spent the 1993-94 season with the San Jose Storm of the National Volleyball League, serving as head coach. He guided the Storm to an 11-4 record during his one season. During the 1992-93 season, Nichols was a head coach for the Golden Bears Junior Club, a girl’s volleyball club in Berkeley, Calif. From 1988-92, Nichols served as an assistant coach for the women’s volleyball team at the University of California. With Nichols on the sidelines, the Golden Bears qualified for post-season play three out of four years.

The former UCLA volleyball player also has experience at the high school level. Nichols coached the girl’s volleyball team at Miramonte High in Orinda, Calif., from 1992-94 and boy’s volleyball at Venice High in Venice, Calif., in 1983.

Nichols is a native of southern California where he grew up playing volleyball on the beach with the likes of Ron Von Hagen, Greg Lee, and Wilt Chamberlain. He played for the UCLA Bruins’ men’s volleyball team from 1974-76 and helped the team win three national championships. Following his playing career, Nichols took a graduate assistant position with the Bruins where he tutored volleyball legend Karch Kiraly.

He and his wife Kalam have two children, Travis and Tyler.