LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall athletic department is thrilled to announce the hiring of Tim Nesselrodt as its next head men's and women's rowing coach. Nesselrodt joins the Diplomats after spending the past six seasons as a national championship-winning head coach at the University of Rhode Island where he was a two-time American College Rowing Association (ACRA) Northeast Region Coach of the Year. Nesselrodt's resume includes a decade of head coach experience as he previously served as the head coach at the University of Richmond for four seasons (2017-20).
"I'm incredibly excited to join F&M as the new head rowing coach! Seeing how important this team is to the College's administration, alumni, and student-athletes who put the work in every day made this an easy decision for me," said Nesselrodt. "I want to thank Director of Athletics Lauren Packer Webster, Associate Athletic Director Jeff Stoudt, and the entire search committee for giving me the opportunity to be part of this team. Having an aligned vision and a team of student-athletes with a drive for success, I know we will achieve some fantastic things. Go Diplomats!"
Highlighting Nesselrodt's successful tenure at Rhode Island were multiple ARCA national championships as he led the men's heavyweight varsity four to the national title while also claiming the small boats point trophy at the 2022 national championship. Just one year later, he led the women's novice four to a national championship en route to capturing the women's small boat points title. In total, he mentored five ACRA All-Americans and 16 All-Northeast Region selections. During that same time, Nesselrodt raised nearly half a million dollars to further support enhancements for the team.
His rower's success also extended past the collegiate season as six of his athletes competed for Team USA at the World University Games. Other notable placements throughout his coaching tenure at Rhode Island included 120 podium finishes, highlighted by championships at the Dad Vail Invitational in both the men's and women's club varsity 8+ and the women's varsity four. All of that success came in addition to his student-athletes excelling in the classroom where he guided 39 student-athletes to ACRA All-Academic honors. Nesselrodt has also been a tremendous advocate for the sport and currently serves as the Northeast Representative on the ACRA Board of Directors. He was instrumental in the creation of the ARCA Coach Mentorship Program and has witnessed several of his former assistants go on to head coaching positions.
Prior to his time at Rhode Island, Nesselrodt led the resurgence of the University of Richmond rowing program where the team consistently climbed the rankings and was beating multiple Division I programs. That success included a historic 2019 season where his team won a silver medal in M1x at the 2019 Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Championships and advanced to the grand finale in the M2x race at the ARCA National Championship. During his time at Richmond, Nesselrodt also served as the executive director of Richmond Community Rowing where he helped multiple athletes get recruited to college programs and created the first high school team in the area which attracted 45 individuals.
Nesselrodt got his start in coaching at his alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University in the fall of 2015 where he served as the team's head novice coach and assistant of the varsity squad. Nesselrodt earned his bachelor's degree in criminal justice and forensic science from Virginia Commonwealth in 2014 and continued his education by obtaining his master's in nonprofit studies while coaching at Richmond in 2020.
