Despite a drunken driving arrest last week, Darris Nichols will be keeping his job as Radford University’s men’s basketball coach.
The university announced Wednesday that Nichols will resume his full duties Monday — the day after the Big South tournament concludes.
Nichols, 36, was charged Feb. 19 with driving under the influence. According to court paperwork, the Radford High School graduate had a 0.25% blood alcohol level — more than three times the legal limit for driving.
Radford University athletic director Robert Lineburg did not respond to a text message Wednesday seeking an interview.
The university never announced a suspension for Nichols. But it did name his older brother and assistant coach Shane Nichols as acting head coach in a Feb. 21 tweet. The tweet did not mention any decision on Darris Nichols’ job status but said the university was “evaluating the situation regarding our head men’s basketball coach.”
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Shane Nichols has gone 1-1 as the acting head coach. He will remain in that role for the Big South tournament. The third-seeded Highlanders (18-13, 12-6) will meet sixth-seeded Winthrop (15-16, 10-8) in a quarterfinal at 8 p.m. Friday at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C. The semifinals will be held Saturday, with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament at stake in Sunday’s final.
Radford’s announcement Wednesday means that if Shane Nichols steers the team to the Big South title, Darris Nichols would be back at the helm for the NCAA Tournament in two weeks.
Darris Nichols pleaded guilty Feb. 23 in Radford General District Court and was convicted of intoxicated driving, first offense. The conviction is a misdemeanor.
Judge Erin DeHart imposed a $2,500 fine and suspended Nichols’ driver’s license for a year, although Nichols was granted a restricted license that will allow him to continue driving after he has an ignition interlock device installed in his car.
DeHart also sentenced Nichols to 180 days in jail, with the jail term to be suspended after he served two days. That translated to time served because the hours that Nichols was in the New River Valley Regional Jail after his arrest gave him credit for the two days.
After Nichols pleaded guilty, Lineburg told The Roanoke Times in a text message that day that “this remains a personnel issue and I have no further comment at this time.”
Nichols declined an interview request Wednesday.
But he did issue an apology on Feb. 24.
“There is no excuse for driving under the influence and I accept full responsibility for my actions,” he wrote in an email that day to The Roanoke Times. “I am thankful to those who took the steps to ensure my safety and that of others and appreciate the professionalism exhibited by our law enforcement.
“I apologize to the entire Radford community — a community that has supported me and my family for decades. I am deeply troubled by the pain my actions have caused my family, Radford University, its administrators, students and alumni; I pray that the community and those affiliated with Radford University will accept my apology.
“There is no justification for my actions, but I pledge that my actions that evening will not define me going forward.”
Nichols’ DUI charge came after police got a call about a seemingly intoxicated man coming to a home on Radford’s Wadsworth Street, near its intersection with Pershing Avenue. The man had left in a black SUV, the caller said.
According to an officer’s account filed with Nichols’ arrest paperwork, the officer spotted the SUV parked in the middle of the street with its engine running. Nichols was at the wheel and showed signs of being drunk. He refused field sobriety tests but was taken to a Breathalyzer; his blood alcohol limit was found to be more than three times the legal limit for driving, the officer wrote.
Nichols was booked into the New River Valley Regional Jail at 11:41 p.m. on Feb. 19, according to jail records. He was released early the next day.
Nichols is in his second season at the helm of the Highlanders.