Eastern Connecticut State University Alumni Hall of Famer and former All-America athlete
David Nicholson ’06 was appointed as the fifth fulltime women’s and men’s head track & field and cross country coach at his alma mater in the summer of 2022.
Nicholson returned to Eastern after serving the previous four years at Lindenwood University (MO), a Division II institution which competes in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). Nicholson joined the Lindenwood staff as Director of Cross Country/Track & Field in the fall of 2018 after beginning his head coaching career at Barton College (NC) where he served two years as head track & field and cross country coach.
In his second season at Eastern in 2023/24, Nicholson enjoyed continued success, with the men's outdoor team winning its second Little East Conference title in four years (eighth overall) and placing among the top half (tied for 16th among 34 scoring teams) at the New England Division III Championships. The women's cross country team and the men's indoor team also placed second in the LEC Championships, with the women submitting their sixth straight top two finish in that competition.
On an individual basis in 2023/24, sophomore pole vaulter Natasha Frisch was named the department's individual sport Female Athlete-of-the-Year after setting the women's outdoor pole vault record, winning the New England Open outdoor and LEC titles and coming within 1 1/4 inches of qualifying for national competition. Two additional athletes were tabbed as the department's top rookies in cross-country/track & field male athlete Zachary D'Andrea and indoor-outdoor female standout Laci Davis. D'Andrea was named All-New England indoors and outdoors with the record-setting 4x800 relays and Davis won the LEC indoor and outdoor triple jump titles and was a member of the winning 4x400 relay at the LEC outdoor championships.
In his first season at Eastern in 2022-23, Nicholson led the women's cross country, men's indoor track & field and men's and women's outdoor track & field teams to second place finishes in the Little East Conference championships.His teams featured one New England outdoor track & field champion, 12 All-New England indoor and outdoor performers, ten All-Mideast indoor and outdoor qualifiers, one Little East Conference major award-winner, six LEC indoor and outdoor champions, and 54 LEC All-Academic qualifiers in cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field.
In the fall of 2023, Nicholson began a four-year term on the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships committee representing the Mideast Region.
“You think about where you want to be in ten, 20 years, and there’s no place that I’d rather be than here,” said Nicholson at the time of his appointment. “I thought that the smartest move right now was to head back and be home and be at Eastern. I decided that if I make the move (from Lindenwood) and I go to Eastern, I’m not going to be there for just ten years… this is going to be home. I’m not going anywhere.”
In all, Nicholson brought a dozen years of collegiate coaching experience back to Eastern. A native of Windsor and a graduate of Northwest Catholic High School, Nicholson began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for two years at Division I Wagner College (NY) in 2006 before later moving on to Division II Queens College (NY) for two years, and Divison II American International College (MA) for two years (serving as associate head coach in his second year) before accepting his first head coaching position at Barton, where he spent two years before accepting the Lindenwood position in 2018.
“Dave is a seasoned, veteran head coach, and I am truly happy to welcome him back to the Warrior family,” noted Director of Athletics Lori Runksmeier in announcing the appointment of Nicholson, who was inducted into the Eastern Athletics Alumni Hall of Fame in the fall of 2021. “Dave was a decorated athlete here and impressed the search committee with his energy, the results he has shown throughout his career, and his commitment to the student-athlete experience.”
Nicholson says that he hopes to build upon the solid foundation that has been put in place by his predecessors, pointing out that “the cupboard’s not bare. Because of the coaches that we’ve had, we’ve had some really bright spots,” says Nicholson, pointing to the top team finishes produced by his immediate predecessor, Kathy Manizza in the Little East Conference for both the men and women in cross country, indoor and outdoor track over her ten-year tenure. “I think that if we can take just a little more of a step, we can put together some big performances across the board and be consistently at the top of the league, and hopefully start to get on the national stage, as well.”
At Lindenwood, Nicholson was named GLVC indoor track & field Men’s Coach-of-the-Year after leading the Lions to the team title in the winter of 2021-22. At AIC, he was named USTFCCCA East Region indoor Assistant Coach-of-the-Year in 2016, and his team won the NCAA Division II Distance Medley Relay national championship that year.
At Lindenwood in 2021-22, in addition to winning the men’s indoor conference title, the men were third in the conference outdoor championship while the women’s team placed fourth outdoors. Outdoors at the NCAA Division II national championships, the men were tied for 21st among 84 teams and the women tied for 38
th in a field of 95.
In both of his seasons at AIC, the men’s cross country team won the NCAA Division II East Regional championship. In all, the AIC cross country, indoor and outdoor track teams claimed a total of five Northeast 10 championships, with the 2015 men’s cross country team winning the first leg of the Northeast 10 triple crown which included the indoor and outdoor conference championships that year.
In his first year at Queens, the men’s outdoor track & field team won the 2013 East Coast Conference championship.
In a four-year athletic career at Eastern, Nicholson helped the Warriors to four straight Little East Conference outdoor titles and one indoor championship. He was among the premier 400 meter runners in Division III, earning All-New England recognition a total of 38 times indoors and outdoors at 200 and 400 meters and with the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relays at the Division III, Open and ECAC championships.
Indoors as a senior, he became the program’s first male to earn NCAA Division III All-America honors in a running event with a sixth-place finish of 48.90 at 400 meters at the national meet at St. Olaf College. That year, Nicholson won New England Division III championships at 400 meters both indoors and outdoors en route to being named New England Division III outdoor track & field Athlete-of-the-Year.
Nicholson earned All-New England recognition (top eight finishers) both indoor and outdoor every year at 400 meters. He was a 27-time Little East Conference and New England Alliance champion indoors and outdoors in the 200 and as anchor on the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. His 400 meter time of 49.63 set in 2006 remained an LEC indoor championship record until 2023 and remains the NEA indoor record. Eighteen years after his final season, Nicholson still holds the program record indoors in the 400 and with the 4x400 relay and outdoors with the Sprint Medley Relay. As both a junior and senior, he shared the department’s Male Athlete-of-the-Year Award.
Nicholson holds USATF Level I and II certification and USTFCCA Academy Strength and Conditioning certification. He earned his B.S. in Sport Management from Eastern and his MBA in International Business from Wagner in 2008.
