DICK REYNOLDS

RReynolds@otterbein.edu
614-823-3518 (office)

Head Coach Dick Reynolds, who will be inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in May, has established himself as one of the most successful coaches in the 106-year history of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC).

The 65-year-old Reynolds, who also serves as the director of athletics at Otterbein, reached the pinnacle of his career during the 2001-02 season, guiding the Cardinals to their first national championship. Otterbein finished at 30-3, winning the OAC regular-season title and post-season tournament — that after being picked to finish sixth in the conference in a preseason coaches’ poll.

In 2002, Reynolds was selected NCAA Division III Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches; and for the second time in his career, Ohio College Coach of the Year by his Ohio coaching peers in balloting conducted by the Columbus Dispatch. He also earned this honor in 1981.

After 36 seasons, he ranks first among OAC skippers on the all-time career victory list with 618. Nationally, Reynolds sits fourth for victories among active coaches and shares fourth all-time in NCAA Division III. Among all NCAA divisions, Reynolds holds down the 43rd spot, just 46 wins away from legendary UCLA coach John Wooden.

Reynolds notched career win 600 on Dec. 09, 2006, a 95-84 win over Muskingum at home. Only five other coaches have reached that mark in NCAA Division III.

A nine-time OAC Coach of the Year selection, Reynolds became the first coach in the OAC to take teams to conference titles over four different decades. He has taken his cagers to at least a share of the regular-season conference title 11 times, earning it outright in 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 2002; and sharing it in 1973, 1976, 1981, 1985 and 2000. The 1978, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 2002 teams won the conference’s post-season tournament.

His overall record stands at 618-359 — for an average of 17.2 wins a season — en route to constructing a program which has often placed Otterbein in the national spotlight.

The Cardinals have advanced into the NCAA Division III Tournament 13 times under Reynolds’ tutelage, winning the national championship in 2002 and reaching the Final Four in 1981 and 1991.

Other NCAA Tournament finishes include: the regionals in 1978, the regionals in 1985, the quarterfinals in 1986, the regionals in 1987, the quarterfinals in 1989, the first round in 1990, the sectional finals in 1992, the second round in 1993, the first round in 1994 and the second round in 1999.

Despite difficult scheduling and the pressures of maintaining a top-flight program, Reynolds’ coaching philosophy has consistently produced outstanding results.

“The key is to get everything we can out of every individual on the team,” Reynolds says. “Every player is a contributor throughout the entire year. It pays to encourage total team involvement.”

Reynolds has a simple formula for his success.

“What I like to be able to do is put a team on the floor that is well disciplined, well groomed, plays together and plays hard,” he says. “If you have those qualities, combined with talent, you’re going to win.

“If you’re not well groomed, you’re not disciplined,” Reynolds continues. “If you’re not disciplined, you won’t play together. And if you don’t play together, you usually don’t play hard.”

Despite his success — 19 seasons with 18 or more victories — Reynolds remains content with his current coaching duties.

“Coaching to me is not necessarily wins and losses,” Reynolds said. “Yes, you like the wins, but I’ve stayed at Otterbein because I like the situation. I like the people. I like what I’m doing here.”

Following graduation from Otterbein in 1965, where he was a 12-time letterman in football, basketball and track, Reynolds returned to his home town of London, Ohio, and taught seventh-grade science while serving as an assistant coach in football, basketball and track at the high school. He was inducted into the London Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.

Reynolds served three years in the U.S. Air Force (1966-69) as a personnel services officer in charge of recreation. His service teams compiled a 38-10 record.

He spent three seasons as assistant under Otterbein head coach Curt Tong, guiding the junior varsity squad to a 31-20 mark before taking over as head coach in 1972.

KYLE POTTKOTTER

Kyle Pottkotter, 31, brings nine years of basketball coaching experience to the Otterbein men’s basketball program. Prior to coming to Otterbein, he served as the assistant men’s basketball coach at Denison University in Granville, Ohio from 2002-2008. In addition, he served as the head men’s golf coach. 

Before going to Denison, Pottkotter held the position of assistant men’s basketball coach at The College of Wooster from 1999-2002. During his time at Wooster, he assisted in leading the Fighting Scots to one regular-season North Coast Athletic Conference Championship and two tournament championships.

“I am thrilled about becoming part of the Otterbein program, which has a rich history of success and excellence in such a respected conference like the OAC,” Pottkotter said. “I am very grateful for the opportunity to work for, and learn from, a legendary coach like Dick Reynolds, as well.”

A native of Celina, Ohio, Pottkotter earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Denison University in 1999. He then earned his master’s degree of Sport Science in Sport Coaching from the United States Sports Academy in Daphne, Alabama in 2002.

“I hope to contribute and build on the tradition of the basketball program, while helping to enhance the overall Otterbein experience of our student-athletes,” said Pottkotter. “I am also excited to assist in attracting future student athletes to Otterbein”.

Pottkotter resides in New Albany, Ohio.

CHAD REYNOLDS

A 1990 Otterbein graduate, Chad Reynolds enters his 14th season as an assistant under his father, head coach Dick Reynolds.

A two-sport athlete at Otterbein, Reynolds earned three letters each in football and basketball. He served as co-captain of the basketball team his senior year, and was awarded the Deke Edler Award for basketball and the Augspurger/Ballenger Outstanding Athlete Award.

Reynolds earned his master’s degree in 1996 from the Ohio State University. He currently serves as the principal at Goshen Lane Elementary in the Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools system.