Hall of Fame
McNichols was named the head men’s track & field and cross country coach at Indiana State in 1983, and despite many opportunities over the years to leave for higher-level jobs, he remained for 34 years until his death in 2016. With the addition of close friend John Gartland as the women’s head coach in 1988, McNichols took over the combined men’s and women’s program the following season in 1989-90 in a joint effort with Gartland to more efficiently run the program.
McNichols coached in 100 total MVC Championships (33 indoor, 33 outdoor, 34 cross country), taking home 38 total team titles -- 11 cross country titles (nine men, two women), 10 indoor track titles (six women, four men) and 17 outdoor track titles (10 men, seven women).
McNichols was named MVC Coach of the Year 23 times for his 23 men’s titles. During his career, he coached 456 MVC Track Champions (251 women, 205 men), eight MVC Cross Country Champions (four men, four women), 355 Track MVC Scholar-Athletes (201 women, 154 men) and 110 Cross Country MVC Scholar-Athletes (56 men, 54 women). In addition, McNichols is just one of 11 coaches in Valley history to be named to the MVC All-Centennial Team (unveiled in 2007). He was named alongside Gartland, the only coaching duo to make the list. McNichols coached 37 members of that MVC All-Centennial Team.
McNichols’ success wasn’t limited to the conference level, though, as he brought Indiana State national prestige in both track and cross country. During his career he coached 15 NCAA Track Champions, 113 All-Americans (across both track and cross), 173 NCAA Track National Qualifiers (98 women, 75 men) and 13 NCAA Cross Country National Qualifiers (10 men, three women). McNichols and Gartland-led track teams also finished in the top-25 nationally 16 times (11 women, five men), which included two incredible streaks: four-straight top-15 finishes for the Sycamore women during the 1993-94 seasons (three of which were top-10) and four top-25 finishes for the men from 1999-2001. The men had an all-time high finish of 11th indoors in 1990 in Indianapolis and the women finished tied for fifth at the 1993 indoor championships.
However, McNichols’ crowning achievement was his vision and then execution of designing and constructing what became the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute. On the site of an abandoned coal mine turned landfill, McNichols and the local Gibson family of Terre Haute saw what could become a championship cross country course. After years of designing, LaVern Gibson was awarded the 2002 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships (and, by extension, the Pre-National Invitational), the first of 12 national meets to be hosted.
He was inducted into the Indiana State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018 and the U.S Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Coaches Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2018, announced Aug. 7.