Two-time MAC Commonwealth Coach of the Year Rob Nydick is entering his ninth season as head men’s soccer coach at Arcadia University in 2017. He is the sixth head coach NCAA Division III era of the men’s soccer program. Nydick also serves as Senior Associate Director of Athletics & Recreation, in which he carries a variety of administrative duties.
Nydick has guided the Knights to a record of 75-61-17 (.546) overall record, which places him second on the program’s career wins list, and includes a 30-24-9 (.548) record against MAC Commonwealth opponents. He has led Arcadia to seven winning seasons and six postseason appearances. Nydick’s players have earned a total of 27 All-Commonwealth Conference selections, which includes eight First-Team picks. He guided Bradley McKim to National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Region honors in 2015, the same year Ryan Hammer was named both the MAC Commonwealth and Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Rookie of the Year.
Nydick’s teams have also shined in the classroom, earning the NSCAA Team Academic Award eight times (2009-16). McKim became the program’s first-ever College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America® selection as a Third-Team honoree in 2016, following back-to-back CoSIDA Academic All-District® First-Team selections in 2015 and 2016. McKim became the program’s first-ever Philadelphia Inquirer/PhillySIDA Performer of the Year in 2016 on the heels of his second straight appearance on the Academic All-Area Team. Joe Clementi was named a Philadelphia Inquirer/Philly-SIDA Academic All-Area selection in 2009 and a Third-Team ESPN/Academic All-District selection by CoSIDA in 2010, the first in program history. Daulton Rutter was a Philadelphia Inquirer/Philly-SIDA Academic All-Area selection in 2015.
In his first season leading the Knights, Nydick was named the 2009 MAC Commonwealth Coach of the Year after taking a team that was just 6-12-0 the year before and leading it to a 12-6-3 overall record. Arcadia finished second in the final league standings at 4-1-2 and advanced to the MAC Commonwealth title game. Four Knights were named to the All-MAC Commonwealth Team, three of whom were First-Team selections.
Arcadia finished 11-8-0 overall and third in the conference standings at 5-2-0 in 2010. Three Knights were named to the All-MAC Commonwealth Team, including Jeff McDonald, who was additionally named a Third-Team All-Region defender by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
Arcadia went 9-8-1 overall and finished fifth in the conference with a league mark of 3-3-1, placing the Knights two points out of a conference tournament berth in 2011. The Knights were back in the conference tournament in 2012 after going 8-5-1 overall and 5-4-0 in conference play.
Arcadia qualified for its first-ever ECAC tournament berth in 2015 following an 11-7-3 season. The Knights placed six on the all-conference team, including Bradley McKim on the First-Team.
The Knights went 9-8-4 in 2016 and advanced to the semifinals of the MAC Commonwealth Championship after advancing 4-3 on penalty kicks in the opening round against Hood. Arcadia was then selected for its second-consecutive ECAC Division III Championship Tournament. Three players were named to the all-conference team, while McKim was also named the Second-Team All-ECAC.
Prior to his arrival in Glenside, Nydick served as first assistant coach at NCAA Division III Stevens Institute of Technology during the 2008 season, where he helped guide the Ducks to an Empire 8 Conference Championship and the program’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship Game. Nydick also fulfilled other duties within the athletic department while at Stevens.
Before joining the Ducks’ staff, Nydick served a two-year stint at NCAA Division I Rutgers University where he assisted in all facets of the Scarlet Knights’ men’s soccer program and served as the team’s goalkeeper coach. Nydick spent the 2005 season as an assistant coach at his alma mater, NCAA Division II East Stroudsburg University, where he was also a professor in the Lifetime Fitness Department. He gained additional coaching at the club level, which included stints with the Lehigh Valley Magic, East Stroudsburg Soccer Club, Orange County (Fla.) Soccer Club, New Jersey Boys ODP, and the Ironbound Soccer Club (N.J.).
As a player, Nydick spent three seasons at East Stroudsburg upon completion of his freshman season at North Carolina Wesleyan College. The Warriors captured the 2002 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference title and advanced to the NCAA Division II Championship Quarterfinals in his senior season. He was also a member of ESU’s 2001 NCAA tournament team.
Nydick earned his bachelor's degree in Physical Education from East Stroudsburg in 2003, and went on to earn his master's degree in Sport Management from ESU in 2004. Nydick is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and an active member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. He holds an Advanced National Diploma from the NSCAA and is a licenced coach with the US Soccer Federation (USSF).
Nydick Currently resides in Oreland Pa. with his wife Diana and son William.
