Jan. 14, 2008

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell head football coach Tim Landis today announced the hiring of Harold Nichols as the team's new offensive coordinator. Nichols has been a collegiate assistant coach for 18 years, the last eight as associate head coach and offensive coordinator at the University of Rhode Island.

Nichols began recruiting for Bucknell this week, and he will be on the sidelines when spring practice begins in March. He succeeds former offensive coordinator Ashley Ingram, who was recently hired as offensive line coach at Navy.

At Rhode Island, Nichols called all of the offensive plays and worked daily with the Rams' quarterbacks and running backs. He played a major role in turning the Rhode Island offense into one of the top ground attacks in the Football Championship Subdivision. The Rams broke the school rushing record in each of his first four seasons in Kingston, including a 4,005-yard ground attack in 2003 that ranked No. 2 in the nation and shattered both Rhode Island and Atlantic 10 records.

The state of Pennsylvania was one of Nichols' primary recruiting territories, along with New Jersey, Connecticut and Florida. Those are four states in which Bucknell has had much recruiting success in recent years.

"I am extremely excited to have Harold Nichols join the Bucknell football program," said Landis. "I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for Harold as a coach, and I believe that he and I share a similar philosophy in terms of where we want to take this offense. He has eight years a coordinator at the I-AA scholarship level, and as tough as it was for us to lose Ashley Ingram, we have certainly landed on our feet with Harold. He is very enthusiastic, and is someone I think our student-athletes and the rest of the athletic department staff will enjoy being around."

A 1989 graduate of Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C., Nichols had two terms as an assistant coach at his alma mater. His first coaching job was a two-year stint at Presbyterian, where he coached the quarterbacks and running backs in addition to serving as the director of campus life for the members of the team.

In July 1992, Nichols began a five-year stretch as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Division I FCS power Georgia Southern. During his time in Statesboro he coached wide receivers, running backs, defensive ends, kickers and specialists. In addition to assigning staff recruiting responsibilities, he recruited off-campus himself throughout much of the Southeast. Nichols helped the Eagles to a 33-15 record and two NCAA quarterfinal appearances.

Following the 1996 football season he returned to Presbyterian as wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator, helping head coach Daryl Dickey take the Blue Hose from 5-6 in 1997 to 8-3 and 7-4 the next two seasons before moving on to Rhode Island.

A native of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., Nichols played quarterback for Presbyterian while majoring in political science. He and his wife, Dee, are the parents of a son and two daughters: 9-year-old Cassie and 6-year-old twins Cameron and Corey.