The Nichols College Athletics Program developed in the 1930's, during the school's tenure as a two-year all-male junior college. Under the coaching and administration prowess of Hal Chalmers, Nichols College grew into one of the best small, private college athletic programs in New England. Bison tennis, cross country, baseball, ice hockey, and soccer teams played competitive schedules against the likes of Boston College, Holy Cross, Dartmouth and other regional New England powers.

With the addition of female undergraduate students in 1971, the athletic program commenced expansion of its athletic offerings to fit the needs of the new student population. Softball, basketball, and field hockey were the early additions while soccer, tennis and lacrosse were added later. In 2008-09, women's ice hockey became the seventh women's varsity sport offered at Nichols College. Women's Volleyball was added in 2017 before men's volleyball began varsity play in 2019. 

The Athletic Department at Nichols College has a strong history of championship teams. The Bison football teams of the 1970's came away with five New England Football Conference (NEFC) Championships and the baseball and soccer teams were also strong. The women's basketball team dominated within the state during the 1980's. Men's tennis, women's soccer, field hockey and softball have continued the winning tradition with conference and tournament championships in the 1990's.

Today, athletics have become a large part of the college experience for today's students. Well over fifty percent of the student population is associated with a varsity or club sport. Since 2010, the men's tennis program has captured nine CCC championships (2012-19; 2022) while women's tennis has won five (2010, 2016-19). Men's basketball has won five-consecutive CCC Championships (2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2021-22) and men's soccer has won two (2010, 2014). The men's ice hockey program, meanwhile, won back-to-back Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Northeast Championships in 2013-14 and 2014-15 before claiming its first-ever Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship in 2017-18.

Entering the 2022-23 academic year, five Nichols programs - men's and women's tennis, men's basketball, men's soccer, and men's ice hockey - have won an NCAA Tournament contest.


Nichols College

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