South Mountain Community College has announced that Dan Nichols has officially agreed to return as the head men’s basketball coach for the 2017-18 season.

Nichols has spent a total of eleven years over two different stints as the Cougars’ Head Coach since 2000, and this will be his first appearance back on the SMCC sidelines since he left after the 2012-13 season. During his tenure, the Cougars won three Region I titles, made five Region I Championship appearances, and made three appearances at the NJCAA DII Men’s Basketball Tournament. Nichols is also a three-time NJCAA District Coach of the Year, and also earned ACCAC Coach of the Year honors twice. Nichols is also a former men’s head basketball coach at Grand Canyon University and a former assistant at California Baptist University in Riverside, California.

In addition to his coaching duties at SMCC, Nichols remains the Director of Club Sports at Grand Canyon University-the largest club sports department of any university in the nation. Nichols has been at GCU since 2008, and has been the club sports director since 2012.