Nic Love starts at FTCC’s head baseball coach Aug. 12, 2021.
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Fayetteville Tech has named Nic Love as the Trojans’ head baseball coach.
This is the first head coaching job for Love, who will also hold a position as an academic advisor. He starts Aug. 12.
Love comes to FTCC from fellow NJCAA Region 10 program Paul D. Camp CC. He was on the Hurricanes’ staff for two years, becoming the team’s associate head coach and recruiting coordinator in his final year there.
Love said that on trips to Fayetteville Tech and J.P. Riddle Stadium, he could see the kinds of opportunities FTCC could offer.
“From the outside looking in, Fayetteville Tech always seemed like a gold mine,” Love said. “It’s got a really great facility, and the school looks like it can really draw prospective athletes in. I think Fayetteville and the area has a lot to offer, and it’s something really easy to sell the kids.”
Fayetteville Tech athletic director Dr. Shannon M. Yates said Love’s specific experience at a Region 10 program is a plus.
“We’re excited to welcome Nic Love to the Trojan Athletics family,” Yates said. “He brings important experience as Camp’s associate head coach and recruiting coordinator and great knowledge of Region 10.
“He’ll also be an academic advisor, and we’re looking forward to seeing his work ethic on our campus in that role as well.”
The 29-year-old Bedford, Va., native is a product of the junior college system. He played baseball at Patrick Henry CC for two years before transferring to NCAA Division III Eastern Mennonite University to finish his collegiate career. He was a captain in his final season at each program.
Love earned his bachelor’s degree in Sport and Recreation Leadership from EMU in 2016 and his master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies with a focus on organizational leadership.
While earning his master’s, Love was an assistant coach with the program, coaching for three seasons with the Royals before joining the Camp CC staff ahead of the 2019-20 school year.
Love said two-year programs give coaches and players more face-to-face time even before the start of the spring season.
“The great thing with junior college is once we get going, it’s ready, set, go,” Love said. “Obviously, academics stand at the forefront of everything we do, but we are allowed to really get in and develop players because we work with them so often and so frequently.”
Love said playing at a junior college at the start of his college career gave him an opportunity to develop his athletic and academic skills.
“It worked out to my advantage, because I wouldn’t trade anything I did as a player for even a DI experience,” he said. “I think what I did really set me up for my career path. Getting to play for some really great coaches at Patrick Henry and then transferring to EMU, it was a bridge of a gap for me.”
Love said his own experience taught him how to manage the demands of competing in college athletics.
“It showed me what being a student-athlete looks like and the time commitment that goes into it,” Love said. “It was big for me to show me how to prioritize my studies, and that you have to get in here and grind a little bit.”
Love took the opportunity to thank the athletics staff from top to bottom for the opportunity to coach.
“I want to thank of course (FTCC President Dr. J. Larry Keen) and Dr. Yates, but also all of the support staff involved in making this possible,” Love said. “I know it’s not just one or two people who are involved in this process, and I thank everyone who has been a part of it.”