COACHING STAFF The team headed into Big Ten territory for the 2008 edition of the NCAA regionals after receiving a bid to the Central Regional hosted by Ohio State. The 13th-seeded Penn State team captured an eighth-place finish to secure its third NCAA Finals berth under Nye.
GREG
NYE HEAD COACH COLLEGE OF WOOSTER ’79 (B.S.) 28TH SEASON AT PENN STATE
In his 28th year as Penn State head men’s golf and 36th season overall as a head coach, Greg Nye has guided the Nittany Lions to national prominence, while bolstering the program’s reputation as a perennial power in eastern collegiate golf. Five appearances in the NCAA Finals in 1996, 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2017 are major highlights of Nye’s highly respected career as the longest-tenured coach in Penn State men’s golf history. For the third-straight year and 11th time in his tenure, Nye was selected the Golf Pride Grips Northeast Region Coach of the Year by the Golf Coaches Association of American (GCAA) following the 2017-18 season. The honor was well-deserved as the Nittany Lions recorded nine top-five finishes in their 11 tournaments that season and won team titles at the Windon Memorial in Chicago, the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate and Rutherford Intercollegiate. Penn State also captured a fourth-place team finish in the Big Ten Championships while Cole Miller placed second among individuals, matching the highest-ever finish by a Nittany Lion. The Nittany Lions made their fourth-straight appearance in an NCAA Regional in 2018, with Penn State one of only four Big Ten Conference teams to accomplish that feat. Under Nye’s purview, the Nittany Lions have done it twice, with consecutive trips in 20152018 and previously in 2007-2010. The 2018-19 season witnessed five top-five tournament finishes which included the Rod Myers Invitational team title in fall 2018, a 19th Rutherford Intercollegiate championship and the Challenge at Champions trophy. For the first time in program history, Penn State had Nittany Lions selected for All-Northeast Region honors all four years of their careers in back-to-back seasons.
EASTERN GOLF CONTRIBUTIONS
One of the most significant contributions Nye has made to Penn State and eastern collegiate golf came in the 1995-96 season when the Nittany Lions became the first-ever Northeastern or MidAtlantic team to advance to the NCAA Finals since the regional format was established in 1987. Penn State made a statement with a ninth-place finish in the NCAA East Regional. In 2004, his Nittany Lions rocked the collegiate golf world by nearly winning the NCAA East Regional, finishing second among 27 teams, seven of which were ranked in the nation’s top 15, including the No. 1-ranked Florida Gators. The Nittany Lions went on to finish 15th among the 30-team field at the NCAA Finals, making Penn State golf history with its highest team and individual finish with Mark Leon capturing sixth.
The Penn State squad was propelled into the 2010 NCAA Finals by seniors T.J. Howe and Kevin Foley. The standout team performance secured a fourth-place finish for the Nittany Lions at regionals upsetting several highly ranked teams and only two shots behind first-place Texas. Howe’s first-place finish made Penn State history in that he became the first Lion to ever win a NCAA regional. Nye led Penn State to a fifth-place team finish in the 2017 NCAA Washington Regional to advance into the NCAA Finals in Sugar Grove, Ill. The second Nittany Lion to ever win an NCAA Regional, Cole Miller, claimed the individual title, shooting 7-under par to win by three strokes. The Blue & White would go on to finish in a tie for 24th in the NCAA Championships.
MILESTONES
In April 2007, Nye marked a personal achievement while the Nittany Lions celebrated their victory at the Marshall Invitational, beating the next best team by 12 strokes. The championship, won on a cool, snowy weekend at the Guyan Golf and Country Club, was the 50th of Nye’s coaching career. The longest tenured Nye’s career coaching win total now stands at 71. In his first two years, Nye’s teams set two Penn State records for the number of championships earned in a season, with six in 1992-93 and eight in 1993-94, a that mark was tied by the 1996-97 squad.
ACADEMIC & ATHLETIC EXCELLENCE
In addition to the team’s success on the course, Nye has continually stressed strong performance in the classroom. In 1999-2000, 2001-2002 and 2015-16, his teams led the nation with three Golf Coaches Association of America All-America Scholar team selections. During the summer of 2015, the Nittany Lions received the President's Special Recognition by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) with Stanford University for teams with a gradepoint average over 3.5. At Penn State, the Nittany Lions have consistently achieved a team GPA greater than 3.00. In 2000-01, 2013-14 and 2014-15, Nye’s team received the award for the top GPA of the 31 intercollegiate teams at Penn State. Six times his Lions topped all the men’s teams with latest honor coming in the spring of 2016. Nye has coached 28 GCAA All-America Scholars and each year he has seen a high percentage of the team rewarded for academic achievements with Academic All-Big Ten honors, now with 130 student-athletes receiving those laurels. Nye’s teams have continually ranked near or at the top of the Mid-Atlantic or Northeast Region. His teams have qualified for the NCAA Championship Regional 22 times, with a current streak of four-straight NCAA Regional appearances (2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018), one of only four Big Ten teams with that distinction. Nye and his Nittany Lions have now down it twice with an earlier skein of four coming in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. In 2011, then-senior T.J. Howe competed individually at the Virginia Tech Regional. In 2017, Nye guided Penn State to its fifth and most recent NCAA Championship Finals appearance. His squads also won the Eastern Championship three straight seasons, 1994, 1995, and in 1997. In addition to the accolades he has received as a coach, Nye has tutored 78 NCAA All-Region players, five Mid-Atlantic Region PlayGoPSUsports.com
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