It’s Official: Williams Will Step Down As Nic Coach School Will Help Its Veteran Mentor With Medical Insurance Payments
Rolly Williams has made it official.
Williams, men’s basketball coach at North Idaho College for 35 years, told school president Bob Bennett at a Thursday morning meeting he will retire after this season.
Bennett offered Williams three options: Return as coach at his current coaching salary, believed to be about $26,000; retire and return as coach for a stipend, believed to be roughly $20,000; or retire, with NIC agreeing to offset Williams’ medical insurance premiums until he becomes eligible for medicare. Williams chose the latter.
“I’m really just trying to concentrate on the games,” said Williams, whose team beat Salt Lake 68-63 here Thursday night and entertains Utah Valley on Saturday night.
Some mystery had developed late last week when Williams asked Bennett to put into writing the conditions of employment should Williams return for another season, leading to speculation of a possible return.
Throughout, Williams maintained he just wanted to know his options and he planned to retire.
“I didn’t have anything else in mind,” said Williams, 57. “I just wanted to clarify things.”
Williams admitted he was intrigued by the option of retiring and coming back to coach for a stipend. “I’m sure a little of my ego wanted to, but a bigger portion of me didn’t.”
“His record speaks for himself,” said Bennett, in reference to Williams’ 730-313 career mark following Thursday’s win. “Everyone who knows Rolly knows him to be a man of stature in many ways.”
Bennett and Williams had several clashes in recent years, but Bennett said, “I don’t think we’ll be bosom buddies, but, as I said to Rolly today, I would hope it’s an amicable relationship the rest of the year.”
Athletic director Jim Headley said a search committee, which was formed last fall but has been in a holding pattern, will “begin the search process immediately.”
Names that could surface for the job are former Idaho assistant coach Hugh Watson, now a high school coach in Tennessee; NIC assistant Brian Hancock; Idaho assistant coach Jay McMillin; Lake City High School coach Jim Winger; and former Post Falls High coach Hugh Hobus.
In endorsing Hancock, 28, a fifth-year assistant and former NIC player, Williams said, “First of all, Brian’s a North Idaho College person and that’s important. This is not a job that he’s looking at to get to somewhere else. … The majority of these kids here now are his (recruits).”
Headley will oversee the search committee and forward a recommendation to Bennett.
“We’d probably want somebody who has had experience at the college level and understands how to market the game because we want people to be excited about basketball at North Idaho College,” Bennett said. “We have a good enough program and college that there’s going to be a lot of interest.”
, DataTimes