Following-up on something that I first back on 7/28 (D3 DIRT). Nick Sales has officially been named as the head men’s basketball coach at D3 Rose-Hulman. Here’s the release from the school:
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology has named nationally regarded Nick Sales as its next head men’s basketball coach. Sales comes to Rose-Hulman after serving as associate head coach during a run of unprecedented success at NCAA Division III Marietta College in Ohio for the past nine years.
Sales served as a key part of a coaching staff that won seven of the last nine Ohio Athletic Conference regular season championships; reached seven NCAA Division III Tournaments; won three OAC Tournament championships; and reached the NCAA Division III Final Four in 2022.
Marietta also made a total of three NCAA Elite Eight appearances and four NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances over the past nine seasons. The team’s combined record stands at 204-45 since Sales joined the coaching staff as an assistant in 2013. Marietta players have earned 31 all-conference honorees; 5 NCAA Division III All-American honorees; and 4 OAC Players of the Year since 2013.
“I would like to thank President Rob Coons, Athletic Director Ayanna Tweedy and the search committee for this phenomenal opportunity. From the very moment I experienced all that the institution has to offer, I knew that Rose-Hulman is determined to provide an exceptional academic and athletic experience to all student-athletes. I am truly looking forward to recruiting and developing high character young men that will excel in representing not only themselves, but Rose-Hulman on and off the court. My family and I are ecstatic about being a part of the Terre Haute community for years to come,” said Sales.
Sales becomes just the 6th men’s basketball head coach at Rose-Hulman since 1963 (Rusty Loyd, Jim Shaw, Bill Perkins, Bill Fenlon, John Mutchner); only the 8th Fightin’ Engineer men’s basketball head coach since 1929 (Phil Brown, Jim Carr); and just the 15th coach in the nearly 120-season history of Rose-Hulman basketball.
“We are so thrilled to have Coach Nick Sales join the Rose-Hulman community. His visionary leadership style and contagious personality fits right into the mold of our department. I am so excited to see the program excel academically and competitively under his tenure,” said Rose-Hulman Athletic Director Ayanna Tweedy.
At Marietta, Sales organized all aspects of campus visits for prospective student-athletes; created weekly schedules for recruiting trips; designed the team’s offseason strength and conditioning program; created individual skill player workout plans; planned and executed practices; created scouting reports and clips for opponents; determined defensive game strategies based on the opponent; served as the team’s academic advisor with student-athletes; and co-directed the program’s basketball camps.
Prior to his time at Marietta, Sales served as an assistant coach at Albion from 2010-11 and as graduate assistant coach at Defiance from 2011-13. His efforts have also included serving on the Retention and Strategic Plan committees at Defiance, and the Anti-Defamation League as facilitator at Marietta.
Sales returns to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference by coming to Rose-Hulman. He was named HCAC Player of the Year, HCAC Tournament Most Valuable Player and Honorable Mention NCAA Division III All-American as a standout player at Defiance College in 2010. Sales earned both a bachelor’s degree in sport management with a minor in recreation (2010) and a master’s degree in education with a concentration in sport coaching (2013) from Defiance.
Sales inherits a Rose-Hulman men’s basketball program that finished 15-10 last season and has reached the HCAC Tournament Championship Game 6 times since 2012 with 3 league tournament titles. The Fightin’ Engineers have won 12 men’s basketball regular season conference championships and made 11 appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament in program history.
