Nichols: Program needs support

Ada Evening News
Bob Forrest Sports Writer

Ada — An official announcement on the employment of East Central University's head coach Kurt Nichols has yet to be made, but he feels he has done a good job under the circumstances.

Nichols said the current state of the ECU athletic program, coupled with the school’s lack of a winning football tradition, will make it tough for anybody to win as coach of the Tigers unless changes are made.

“As long as there is a lack of commitment out of the school for football, this program is going to struggle,” he predicted. “We have the most antiquated facilities, the smallest dressing room, the smallest weight room, the oldest field and the smallest budget of anybody in the Lone Star Conference.

“Our coaches also have the smallest salaries, with the smallest number of full-time (coaches on the staff).

“My budget is $45,000 less than I had in junior college,” Nichols added. “My predecessor (McCarty) was able to spend $40,000 to $60,000 more than I was, and (the administration) has cut scholarships since I’ve been here. I had to play Sam Houston to get the money to supplement my strength coach’s salary and my defensive coordinator’s salary just to make it liveable. I take one bus to games when everybody else in the conference takes two, because we can’t afford (to take two). Last year, I was out of money in the middle of October, and that’s not because of overspending — it was the result of very basic spending.”

Go to the Ada Evening News for the rest of the story.
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Any interested coaches might have second thoughts after reading this.