Nicholson Takes Over Butler Softball Program

Sept. 7, 2005

Angie Nicholson who took Ursuline College from three wins to 26 in her only season as head coach and enjoyed a standout playing career at Cleveland State, has been named head softball coach at Butler University, athletic director John Parry announced today (Sept. 7). Nicholson becomes the sixth head coach in Butler softball history and will begin her duties in mid-September.

"Angie will bring solid fundamentals and unbridled enthusiasm to Butler softball," said Parry. "She is very familiar with the Horizon League, Midwest softball and some of our current team members."

Nicholson's five-year career as a head coach has been marked by success. Most recently, Nicholson inherited an Ursuline College team that had won just three games in 2004 and guided the team to a 26-17 record in 2005, leading the NAIA team to the conference playoffs and the regional tournament.

Four Arrows earned all-conference accolades in 2005, while two of those players also earned all-region honors. The softball team at Ursuline was the first UC program to have athletes earn conference and regional recognition. Nicholson also served as the cross country coach at Ursuline.

"I am so anxious to get started at Butler," said Nicholson. "After meeting with the team I feel very confident that great things are going to be happening with this program. The team is young and ready and willing to look ahead and make the necessary adjustments to get the program to where we want it to be."

Prior to arriving at Ursuline, Nicholson spent four years at Cuyahoga Community College, where her 2004 squad won the regional championship and finished sixth in the Junior College World Series. A two-time Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) "Coach of the Year" recipient, Nicholson also earned National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 12 "Coach of the Year" honors in 2004. Her teams made appearances in the regional tournament in three of her four seasons.

Nicholson rebuilt the program at Cuyahoga, as her teams improved from 14 wins in 2001 to 30 in 2004. She posted a four-year mark of 94-64 (.595) at Cuyahoga, mentoring 14 all-conference selections, five all-region honorees, and eight academic all-conference representatives.

While serving as the head coach at Cuyahoga, Nicholson was also a seventh grade teacher and volleyball coach in the Cleveland Board of Education school system.

Nicholson is no stranger to the Horizon League, having earned all-conference honors during her playing career at Cleveland State. Under her maiden name of Angie McCall, she was a 1999 first-team and 2000 second-team all-conference selection, while also appearing on the all-conference academic team. In addition to her league accolades, Cleveland State honored Nicholson as the team's "Best Defensive Player" in 1998 and 1999. She was a four-year member of the Dean's List and a four-time Academic Excellence Scholar-Athlete Award winner.

Nicholson graduated from Cleveland State in May of 2000 with a B.S. in elementary education. She and her husband, Richard, a former wrestler at Cleveland State, have three young children, Taylor, Mackenzie and Payton.

Butler returns 13 letterwinners, including three all-league honorees, from last season's 19-33 team. Nicholson replaces Tom Spencer, who resigned in July after serving three years as Butler's head coach.

Story Provided by John Dedman, Butler University Sports Information