FACULTY SPOTLIGHT COACH NOBLES By Paul Connor
Inscribed on the walls of Dodd Hall, on the campus of Florida State University, is the quote, “The half of knowledge is to know where to find knowledge.” Perhaps the other half of knowledge is to learn from those who possess it. For the past 36 years, Florida State University’s sport management program has had the privilege to have one of its own, Dennis Nobles, share his knowledge and wisdom every day. As Coach Nobles retires from his position of associate professor and undergraduate academic advisor following the upcoming 2021 summer semester, we salute him and his contributions to the sport management department and to the FSU community as a whole.
No two words could better describe Coach Nobles than “teacher” and “advisor.” Whether in the classroom or on the track as the director of field events for FSU track & field, Coach Nobles spent his career guiding and teaching students through their pivotal college years. The best teachers are the ones who are not simply passionate about their subject matter, but are passionate about teaching their students, and no teacher was more passionate about teaching young adults than Coach Nobles.
Coach Nobles, a letterman with the track & field team, first began teaching at FSU in 1985 as an assistant professor as a double FSU alumnus, with an undergraduate degree of physical education in 1980 and a master’s of exercise physiology in 1983. Through courses such as “Human Movement and Principle and Problems of Coaching,” Coach Nobles shared with his students his love for coaching and his belief in the impact and power of sports on both individuals and the world. In these classes, countless future coaches learned what makes coaches successful during practices and games, but more importantly, these students learned who coaches should be as people. He spent as much time on how athletes should be coached as to what they should be coached on. Coach Nobles taught that success was not defined by wins and losses but by the highest level of effort being given on each day. While Coach Nobles taught his students that a good coach should be a good person, he also showed it every day on the track. A combination of John Wooden and Mr. Miyagi, Coach Nobles was much more than just a track & field coach. More importantly, his coaching was the medium through which he taught life lessons. Wearing his trademark brimmed hat, he coached with kindness, patience, and encouragement. No day was ever too bad, and no goal was ever unreachable. Each athlete, whether they be an Olympian or a walk-on, was treated fairly. 13
