Mike Nicola joined the UNO Athletic Department in March of 2013 and is responsible for the healthcare of the men’s basketball team. Initially hired as Assistant Athletic Trainer, he worked in his first season with the Maverick baseball team, which won its first Summit League championship that season. Nicola was promoted to the position of Head Athletic Trainer in November 2013 and further elevated to Assistant Athletic Director – Athletic Performance in October of 2020.

Prior to UNO, Nicola spent six and a half years as an assistant athletic trainer at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa, working with the men’s soccer, men’s basketball and baseball teams. The Reiver baseball program won the 2010 and 2012 NJCAA national championships under his care.

Nicola earned a bachelor’s degree in athletic training from Nebraska in 2004. In 2006, he received his master’s degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in sports management from LSU while working as a graduate assistant athletic trainer with men’s and women’s track & field, women’s gymnastics and football teams. 

Nicola is a member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, Midwest Athletic Trainers’ Association and the Nebraska Athletic Trainers’ Association. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association.  He also is an American Heart Association Basic Life Support Instructor and an approved clinical instructor through the UNO Athletic Training Education Program